New virtual wellness platform eliminates barriers to care for students
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Media Contact: Kayley Spielbusch | Digital Communications Specialist | 918-561-5759 | kspielb@okstate.edu
The Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences’ Department of Wellness is eliminating barriers to care that students may face with TimelyCare.
TimelyCare is a virtual health and well-being platform available to all OSU-CHS students. Accessible 24 hours a day via phone, TimelyCare provides students with immediate access to medical and mental health care from anywhere in the United States.
Additionally, it is completely free for all students, regardless of insurance coverage.
Jesse Chaffin, health and wellness manager at OSU-CHS, said data shows a stark relationship between well-being and academic performance.
“When we start looking at students who value taking care of themselves and things of that nature, they are generally performing at a higher level than their peers,” Chaffin said. “Our job is to help students along their path and provide the resources they need to navigate stressors.”
TimelyCare offers two different forms of virtual mental health care. TalkNow is on-demand emotional support from a licensed professional counselor. Students are connected with a licensed professional within five minutes. The other option is scheduled counseling with six free visits per year.
TimelyCare also provides virtual urgent care in addition to counseling services. MedicalNow offers on-demand care for non-life-threatening medical issues, or students can schedule appointments as needed. There is no limit to the number of scheduled medical appointments.
"We need to have help available with as few barriers as possible. If someone makes
the decision that they need help, but they go to sign up for care and experience a
hurdle, that might influence their decision to follow through. TimelyCare ensures
that students can access care 24/7."
Another service TimelyCare provides is basic needs support, which connects students with community resources such as food or housing assistance, transportation services, child care and financial support.
The basic needs support is not limited to the state of Oklahoma. The TimelyCare team can connect a student with resources local to their area. This is especially helpful for out-of-state graduate students or medical students on rotations outside of Oklahoma.
Providing these easy-to-access resources is important because of the challenges students already face with their busy schedules.
“We need to have help available with as few barriers as possible. If someone makes the decision that they need help, but they go to sign up for care and experience a hurdle, that might influence their decision to follow through,” Chaffin said. “Utilizing TimelyCare ensures that students can access care 24/7 from wherever they are using their phone.”
Since its launch in the fall, over 100 OSU-CHS students have registered and accessed TimelyCare’s services.
Students can learn more about TimelyCare and register on the Department of Wellness’s website.