Iowa Medical and Classification Center

Iowa's men's reception and classification center in Coralville, also the prison system's medical and psychiatric hub.

Overview

The Iowa Medical and Classification Center (IMCC) is a medium-security state prison for men in Coralville, in Johnson County, run by the Iowa Department of Corrections (Iowa DOC). It opened in 1969 and serves two distinct roles for the state prison system: it is the reception, diagnostic, and classification center for men entering the system, and it is the system’s medical and psychiatric hub.

The facility is commonly called “Oakdale” — the historic name of the campus it sits on. Its municipality and mailing city is Coralville, not the neighboring city of Iowa City.

What Makes IMCC Different

IMCC is the single point of entry for men coming into Iowa’s prison system. A newly committed man is received here, where staff assess and classify him before he is transferred to the facility where he will serve his sentence. Because of this reception role, many men at IMCC are there only for a short intake period before being moved.

IMCC is also the medical hub for the Iowa prison system, providing medical and psychiatric care that the other prisons send people to it for. The facility additionally houses the Iowa Forensic Psychiatric Hospital — the only licensed forensic psychiatric hospital in Iowa, used for competency evaluations and inpatient psychiatric care.

Visiting

The statewide Iowa DOC rules — the approved visitor list, dress code, ID requirements, and item limits — apply at IMCC. Every visitor must be approved before any visit; after approval, visits and video calls are scheduled through the Ameelio Connect app. Because IMCC is a reception facility, visits may be limited while a person is being received and classified. Confirm the facility’s current visiting days and hours, and whether visits are allowed for the specific person, before traveling.

Communication

Iowa uses Ameelio, a nonprofit, for communications across its prisons. Ameelio provides phone calls, video visits, and electronic messaging, free to families. See the phone and video guide for how to set up an account.

Mail

Iowa does not deliver personal mail to the prison. Incoming personal mail is sent off-site to a private vendor, Pigeonly, in Las Vegas, Nevada, which scans each item and delivers a copy to the facility. Mail sent directly to the prison is returned to the sender. The Mail guide has the exact Pigeonly address and explains the facility ID code that must go on the envelope — confirm IMCC’s current facility ID code before sending anything.

Legal mail goes directly to the facility, not to Pigeonly.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone at an Iowa prison:

• Visiting in Iowa — approval process, dress code, scheduling
• Mail & Packages — what you can send and what gets rejected
• Phone & Video Calls — accounts, call costs, video visits
• Sending Money — how to add funds to an account
• Medical & Mental Health — health care in Iowa prisons
• Transfers — what happens during transfers