Sept. 1, 2020 – As part of Collin College’s ongoing response to COVID-19, students, adjunct faculty, and part-time staff now have free and unlimited access to medical and mental health counseling visits through TimelyMD, a telehealth company that specializes in higher education.
The new program, CougarCare, offers eligible individuals with on-demand medical care and on-demand mental health counseling. The program allows 24/7 access to free medical and/or mental health counseling, known as “Talk Now”, visits from licensed physicians and counselors anywhere in the United States. For students, the “Talk Now” program helps provide after-hours and weekend support. Collin College Counseling Services still provides ongoing weekly telehealth talk therapy to students during regular business hours.
Seeking care on-demand is as easy as making a video call. From an app on their phone or other device, individuals can see the profiles, faces and basic identifying details of a diverse range of medical providers or mental health counselors. They can choose to meet with a specific provider or select the first available medical professional. Typically, video consultations with a provider last 5-10 minutes. Individuals will be able to access this service at www.cougar.care.
“Not all of our students and part-time employees have access to health care. We’ve seen tremendous advances in telemedicine, and that’s what CougarCare is all about—technology that allows our students, adjunct faculty, and part-time staff to connect with a healthcare provider within minutes at no cost,” Collin College District President Dr. Neil Matkin said. “Some of the factors particularly affecting students are stress, anxiety, sleep difficulty, cold, flu, sore throat, and depression. We believe access to medical care may result in higher persistence and completion rates as well as contributing to overall positive outcomes for our students.”
TimelyMD enhances campus resources by helping limit the spread of illness, reducing the stigma of mental health counseling, and granting peace of mind to students and their families. In fact, a recent survey found the top three things that would boost parents’ confidence in the ability of campuses to support students this fall include on-campus enforcement of social distancing, regular COVID-19 testing, and access to 24/7 telehealth resources for physical and mental health.
“Virtual access to medical and mental health counseling has never been more important, especially for college students who may be learning remotely, need care after hours, and prefer to do so privately on their own devices,” said Luke Hejl, chief executive officer of TimelyMD. “Resuming classes this fall includes anticipating and addressing the concerns, needs and demands of students and their families. TimelyMD is proud to partner with Collin College to take quality medical and mental health care off everyone’s worry list.”
Collin College serves more than 59,000 credit and continuing education students annually and offers more than 100 degrees and certificates, including new Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Bachelor of Applied Technology (BAT) in Cybersecurity degrees. The only public college based in Collin County, Collin College is a partner to business, government and industry, providing customized training and workforce development. For more information, visit www.collin.edu.