On Monday, April 27, New Mexico State University’s Aggie Health and Wellness Center launched a new 24/7 service in partnership with an outside partner, TimelyCare, to offer health resources to students beyond the office’s hours of operation. TimelyCare allows for all NMSU students and to receive a variety of mental health and telehealth services from their phone or laptop, from any place and at any time, all at no extra cost.
The process in establishing a 24/7 healthcare system began nearly two years ago, when NMSU came together with other institutions in the state to draft a request for a proposal to initiate a service that would help make care available for all students whenever they may need it. The options provided with TimelyCare include telehealth visits, digital self-care content, and mental health with TalkNow.
The Aggie Health and Wellness Center decided that this service would be an excellent way to meet the needs of students who require a visit or non-emergency assistance beyond the Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekly schedule provided by the office.
One example of the mental health and well-being resources available is the anonymous community dashboard. It offers a safe place for students to vent their frustrations, stresses, and struggles to others and receive encouraging words.
TimelyCare also offers articles and step-by-step plans to help live a healthier lifestyle and reduce stress, including guides on different methods of self-care for stress, sleep, and anxiety. These resources include facts that are sourced from doctors and research.
Amanda Blair, the Aggie Health and Wellness Center’s assistant director, spoke about the process of deciding to use TimelyCare in particular.
“We reviewed five to seven different providers, and through the RFP [request for proposal] process we came up with TimelyCare for what we needed and wanted,” Blair said.
Dr. Dale Menges, NMSU’s campus pharmacist, was a member of the proposal team who decided on the service and helped with the 18-month long process. Menges discussed the partnership and how it will impact the student body.
“We feel like this partnership is going to be something that really dramatically improves care here,” Menges said.
Blair emphasized the new service as being a new opportunity that students can make the most of.
“I am hopeful students are going to see this as an opportunity to receive care that is not normally available to them,” Blair stated. “It is going to allow students to access care whenever they want.”
Freshman Jame Torok remarked on the convenience of the service to students.
“I think it’ll make it more accessible to everyone, because you don’t have to go anywhere,” Torok said. “You can do it straight from your phone.”
Dr. Menges also spoke on how TimelyCare is a big milestone in improving the accessibility of services from the Aggie Health and Wellness Center.
“This was a labor of love and a big challenge for us; we wanted it to happen,” Menges said, “We’re looking for a win-win here and making it better for you guys.”
Students can access the service by visiting https://app.timelycare.com/auth/login and signing up/logging in using their NMSU email.
