SILVER CITY, NM— For the first time this fall, Western New Mexico University will be partnering with TimelyCare, an online platform that provides medical and mental health care to colleges and universities.

TimelyCare services will be a supplement to in-person care provided by Hidalgo Medical Services (HMS)—which offers medical, behavioral health and dental care—and to the mental health care provided through the campus counseling center. Services will be available to both undergraduate and graduate students.

One of the advantages of partnering with TimelyCare is that it makes services available to those students who attend WNMU remotely and are not present in Grant County, said Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Betsy Miller. The services provided by HMS, she noted, are not accessible to online students from other parts of the state or country. "They are paying student fees, and they need the help as well," she said.

WNMU students can now have free access to virtual care from any state, at any time. "It will be available for students after hours, during our breaks [and] on the weekend," said Miller. 

Another advantage is that TimelyCare provides services in over 240 different languages, said Miller. If a student prefers to communicate in Spanish or another language, they will have that option.

One service TimelyCare provides is Talk Now, a free counseling service that allows students to quickly connect with professionals to discuss their mental health concerns. Students can have an unlimited number of Talk Now consultations, up to twelve scheduled counseling sessions, and unlimited medical consultations.

Miller said that she hopes the partnership with TimelyCare will also ease the workload of Shelby Wilkie and Sarah Guck, who both provide counseling services on campus. "Their caseloads are high," said Miller. "They deal with a lot of students on our campus and in our community. … I hope this will help them."

As TimelyCare is rolled out at WNMU in the coming days, students will be able to access it through the university's website.