Messiah University adds 24/7 telehealth access to support students’ medical and mental health needs

Messiah University adds 24/7 telehealth access to support students’ medical and mental health needs

In response to growing student need—and as part of Messiah University’s ongoing response to COVID-19—Messiah students now have free and immediate 24/7 access to tele-medical and tele-mental health counseling visits through TimelyMD, a telehealth company that specializes in higher education.

This new program, called FalconCare, launched on Nov. 20 as an extension of, and in collaboration with, the on-campus health and counseling services currently provided by Messiah’s Engle Center. The addition of FalconCare provides Messiah students an expanded care solution for campus health, with on-demand medical care, on-demand mental health counseling, and appointment-based counseling programs specifically designed for college students. The program allows students to have 24/7 access to free medical and/or mental health counseling visits anytime, from licensed, screened and vetted physicians and counselors anywhere in the United States—even when Messiah is not in session, i.e., during the summer and other semester breaks.

FalconCare is available for all Messiah undergraduate degree-seeking students including residential, commuter and fully remote students—as well as on-campus graduate students studying at Winding Hill in the dietetic internship, occupational therapy and physical therapy programs.

In response to the ongoing hardship of COVID-19 on students and their families, Messiah will be providing access to FalconCare at no additional charge to students through summer 2021. After that point, access to Falconcare will be covered by student fees or tuition, and students will no longer pay out-of-pocket for visits at the Engle Center. 

Students access FalconCare via an app on their phone or other web-enabled device, where they can see the profiles, faces and basic identifying details of a diverse range of medical providers or mental health counselors available to them. They can then choose to meet with a specific provider or select the first available. Typically, students are having a video consultation with a provider or counselor within 5-10 minutes.

“The launch of FalconCare is an important expansion of the quality health services currently provided by our dedicated team of Engle Center professionals,” says Kris Hansen-Kieffer, vice provost for student success and engagement. “Messiah had been exploring a partnership with TimelyMD prior to the pandemic, as a potential solution to keeping pace with the significant increase in demand for student health services—especially in the areas of mental health and counseling. The launch of FalconCare helps meet this increased need, and comes at a particularly relevant time as students seek to navigate the added stress, anxiety and medical needs of the COVID-19 pandemic. FalconCare is intended to break down access barriers and provide peace of mind for both students and their families that students are getting the timely health services they need.”

About TimelyMD

TimelyMD, Messiah’s provider partner for FalconCare, is a healthcare company that offers universities and colleges a comprehensive, customized program centered around telehealth. Their campus partners include schools such as Notre Dame University, Abilene Christian University, Duke University and Johns Hopkins University. TimelyMD’s campus-wide solution gives students one point of contact, anytime, anywhere, to get quality care and immediate treatment for medical or mental health concerns from board-certified physicians and licensed counselors. TimelyMD’s telehealth programs optimize clinic resources and support clinic staff in delivering quality care to the right students at the right times. Visit timely.md for more information.