Current Valerie’s House Families: Please read the following description and guidelines of Valerie’s House Virtual Support Groups before agreeing to the terms below.

We are looking forward to being able to stay connected virtually with Valerie’s House Virtual Peer Support Group sessions, through a software we have launched with Zoom for Healthcare. This service is provided by technology including but not limited to video, phone, text, apps and email. The benefits of using VH Virtual means the ability to continue meeting with your Valerie’s House group while in-person group meetings are limited.

Limitations that may affect the quality of your session:

  • Your peers and the group leader cannot see you, your body language or your non-verbal reactions to what we are discussing.

  • Due to technology limitations the participants and or the facilitator may not hear all of what you are saying and may need to ask you to repeat things.

  • Technology might fail before or during the VH Virtual Support Group.

  • Although every effort is made to reduce confidentiality breaches, breaches may occur for various reasons.

Getting Set Up/Logistics

  • You will soon receive a link for our secure and HIPAA compliant video session.

  • Your virtual group with your friends will meet at the same scheduled day and time every other week.

  • Valerie’s House facilitators will be conducting video support groups from a private location where the facilitator is the only person in the room.

  • As a participant, you will want to be in a private location where you can speak openly without being overheard or interrupted by others to protect your own confidentiality.

  • If you choose to be in a place where there are people or others can hear you, Valerie’s House cannot be responsible for protecting your confidentiality.

  • It is good for you to try and make every effort to protect your confidentiality. One suggestion could be that you wear a headset to increase confidentiality and also increase the sound quality of your group.

Recording of Sessions Not Permitted

Please note that recording, screenshots, etc. of any kind of any session is not permitted and are grounds for termination of your right to participate in Valerie’s House’s Virtual Support Group. Even with this rule, Valerie’s House cannot guarantee the privacy or confidentiality of conversations held via phone, as phone conversations can be intercepted either accidentally or intentionally.

Connection Loss During Phone and/or Video Sessions

If you lose our phone and/or video connection during your group session, we will do our best to troubleshoot the reason we lost connection. Please call Amy Strom, Program Director at 239-841-9186 for assistance or Ally O’Brien, Assistant Director of Group Support at 239- 841-4825 during sessions.

Crisis

If a situation occurs during the Valerie’s House Virtual Group and you are talking and get disconnected and you are in crisis, you agree to call 911, go to your local emergency room immediately or contact the National Suicide Hotline at 800-784-2433.

If Valerie’s House staff and/or group facilitators have concerns about your safety at any time during a Valerie’s House Virtual Group, they will need to break confidentiality and call 911 (if located in the same county or emergency services in the area you are located at the time of the call) and/or your emergency contact immediately.

Please note that everything in our informed consent that you’ve agreed to, including all the confidentiality exceptions, still applies during phone/video sessions.