Bowdoin recently announced its partnership with TimelyCare, a virtual health platform designed to expand student access to emotional and medical support. Previously, access to Counseling Services and Health Services was limited to scheduled appointments during weekdays, often conflicting with class hours.

Michael Pulju, Senior Associate Dean of Student Affairs for Student Wellbeing and Support, detailed the partnership in an email to the community on September 18.

“Some things don’t wait for business hours. A fever that climbs at midnight. A stretch of anxiety on a weekend afternoon,” Pulju wrote.

During those times of need, students are now able to reach a provider at no additional cost.

This partnership follows several years with TELUS, a different virtual health provider. According to Pulju, that partnership saw low student engagement and lacked a medical component, pushing the College to look elsewhere for after-hours care that would cover all bases.

TimelyCare offered something broader: Beyond CrisisNow, a 24/7 direct phone line that offers on-demand TalkNow and MedicalNow care available within five to seven minutes, along with scheduled medical visits that are available within one to two days.

Pulju was clear that the goal is not to replace Counseling Services, but to fill the gaps around them.

“It’s not a replacement; it’s an addition,” Pulju said in an interview with the Orient.

Before finalizing the partnership, Pulju spoke with colleagues at several other NESCAC schools that had already adopted TimelyCare and heard overwhelmingly positive feedback from both students and staff.

“Any company is going to give you all the positives and kind of try to convince you to sign on with them, which is important,” Pulju said. “But what I found more important was engaging in some conversation with colleagues at other places.”

With the partnership finalized, Pulju recommended that students register for an account now, rather than waiting until the services are needed. Setting one up is simple: after logging in with a Bowdoin email and answering a few introductory questions, students gain instant access to all of TimelyCare’s resources, including a self-care hub with videos and articles ranging from yoga tutorials to email templates. These services are also accessible to students with disabilities and non-English speakers.

The website also has a community tab where students can anonymously share concerns. According to Shannon Jackson, director of counseling services, the community tab will serve as another supplementary support system for students.

“Some find that they would rather receive support from (and give support to) peers with similar lived experience. This may prove particularly helpful to students who may be apprehensive about engaging with professional mental health services,” Jackson wrote in an email to the Orient.

Jackson emphasized that students are never without access to mental health care and are encouraged to use Counseling Services and TimelyCare together in whatever way works best for them.

“For example, a student may be working with a counselor through Counseling Services and receive difficult news from home on a Saturday. We would love for that student to feel comfortable accessing TimelyCare for support in the moment and then processing the news in greater depth during their next counseling session,” Jackson wrote.

MedicalNow and TalkNow are available specifically during the hours when Health and Counseling Services are closed. To Pulju, that built-in restriction is part of what empowers students to make choices about their own healthcare. A student feeling unwell on a Sunday afternoon, for example, can decide whether to seek treatment right away or wait until the next day.

Access is not limited to students on campus, either. Students who are home for a break, studying abroad or traveling can still reach a provider, as long as they connect during the platform’s Eastern Time hours.

Importantly, Pulju emphasized that TalkNow is not designed to replace long-term counseling. Since students are connected with a different provider each time they use it, TalkNow works best as an in-the-moment resource rather than an ongoing one.

Although TimelyCare offers many benefits, getting students to actually use the platform may prove difficult.

“Bowdoin students are very busy and bombarded with information. It’s easy for a new service or campus opportunity to go unnoticed,” wrote Jackson.

Still, Pulju believes students are most likely to hear about TimelyCare from each other.

“The number one thing that students will listen to will be their peers,” Pulju said.

As the program moves forward, Pulju said he is eager to hear directly from students about their experience with the platform.

“TimelyCare wants to be successful. Obviously, we want it to be successful, but most importantly, we want the student experience and how they interact to be as smooth as possible to support the navigation of their health,” Pulju said.