Dear Campus Community:

We would like to update you on several changes that will improve our ability to provide comprehensive mental health services for students.

In summer 2014, the College and Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC) formed a partnership to provide on-site counseling services to better serve students and the campus community. We learned over the past 18 months that this model was not ideal for meeting our shared desire for quality services. Therefore, we have mutually agreed to end the partnership effective March 1. GRMC and the College will work together during the transition to ensure a high standard of healthcare for our students. Then, each institution will assume accountability for the mental health needs of our distinct communities. Here are some details about the upcoming transition:

Two GRMC counselors, Beth Gallegos and Becky Heeran, will become College employees. Gallegos will work full time as the assistant director of Student Health and Counseling Services (SHACS), while Heeran will work part-time as a staff counselor. Jill Sudak-Allison will continue to provide services to the College through GRMC for the rest of spring 2016.
The College will also be hiring another full-time counselor in SHACS.
Linda Romero, a social worker with GRMC, will work two afternoons weekly for the College in an interim capacity through February.
Anthony Rinaldi '09, a doctoral candidate at the University of Iowa in the counseling psychology program, will join the College part time effective Jan. 29. We continue to look for ways to leverage and expand the College's collaboration with the University of Iowa's doctoral program.
A telepsychiatry program is being sought by the College, which would provide on-site prescriber services free to students. GRMC will continue to offer telepsychiatry services for students and community members at the mental health clinic at GRMC. The College has hours designated solely for our students at GRMC.
SHACS will continue to provide short-term therapy, and students needing long-term therapy and medication management will continue to be referred to local prescribers and therapists, including GRMC providers.

Thank you for your interest in mental health services on campus. The College and GRMC are pleased to have made this decision on good terms and will continue to work together during the transition as partners in the community.

Sincerely,

Andrea Conner, associate vice president for student affairs

Doris Rindels, GRMC vice president