SHAW Partnering with the Virtual Care Group

When I started here at Grinnell as Dean for Health and Wellness, I made it a priority to visit with as many students and student groups as I could to find out what you thought of SHAW. What I heard was that SHAW provides excellent medical and counseling services and the staff are truly competent, caring, and very helpful. However, a very common concern was access to SHAW services, especially counseling. Although students could get in to see counselors for their initial visit in a timely way, once the semester got in full swing, SHAW had a waiting list for individual counseling that could result in a student having to wait weeks or even months for ongoing counseling, in some cases. I made accessibility to SHAW services my very top priority. Now, I believe lack of accessibility might be a thing of the past.

I am so very pleased to announce that SHAW has entered into a partnership with the Virtual Care Group (VCG) to provide additional medical and counseling services to all students, available 24/7, starting September 1, 2021. In addition to our nurses and counselors at SHAW, students will have remote access to over 20 medical doctors and over 1,000 counselors who are licensed to provide services in the State of Iowa. This means that students will now be able to choose to see a nurse or counselor in person at SHAW or talk with a medical doctor or counselor remotely via the Virtual Care Group. This partnership will give students access to a broad variety of diversity and even languages among the providers. Students may access the VCG without seeing a nurse or counselor from SHAW. And, perhaps best of all, these services are provided to our students free of charge. Periodically, you’ll receive an informational email from VCG about their services.

This 24/7 service must be activated on the Grinnell College Virtual Care Group website with your legal last name, date of birth, and school zip code of 50112. Students can also call 866-533-1827. Once active, you can review the providers and schedule a free telecounseling or telehealth visit. All students are encouraged to download the VCG app and activate their account whether they plan on using this service or not. While VCG does offer psychiatry, this service is NOT free for Grinnell College students. SHAW does provide psychiatric services through our TelePsychiatry program free of charge. The service through VCG allows students to schedule appointments at a time that fits best with their schedule. It also allows students to schedule quickly if in-person appointments aren’t currently available. We are happy to be able to offer this additional service to supplement our in-person nursing and counseling appointments. If you have any questions, please contact Alexis Steele, Senior Program Coordinator, at steeleal@grinnell.edu.

I hope you have a wonderful and healthy year!

Terry W. Mason, Ph.D.

Dean for Health and Wellness