After a year of negotiations and planning, the Associated Students of Diablo Valley College and DVC administration have launched TimelyMD, the school’s first-ever student health service. As the impacts of the coronavirus continue to pose severe health and economic challenges, TimelyMD, which started Feb. 1, is a free, day-and-night telehealth service accessible to all DVC students via cell phone or computer.

Students can register at www.CAstudents.care. As an incentive to join early, people who sign up before March 1 will be included in a drawing to win a pair of AirPods. 

Through TimelyMD, students may take advantage of an unlimited number of free, virtual visits with doctors who can diagnose non-emergency medical conditions and prescribe medications. They can also chat with licensed mental health practitioners as needed.

International students with a U.S.-based phone service can sign up as well.

In addition, students who register at the TimelyMD site can receive a prescription discount card accepted at more than 65,000 pharmacies across the U.S., providing up to 80 percent savings. 

For more than a decade, the ASDVC had been advocating the creation of a student health service for the campus. The new telehealth service was co-sponsored by the ASDVC and the college, which contributed $150,000 and $87,875 to the contract, respectively.

A one-year pilot program scheduled to run from Feb. 1, 2021, to Jan. 31, 2022, the service will be reviewed next winter and a decision made about how best to provide health services to students moving forward. 

ASDVC environmental affairs officer and student leader, Gerardo De La Torre, has been instrumental in the launch of TimelyMD. He said that prior to the launch of the service, “out of 115 California community colleges, DVC [was] one of less than 13 which do not have any health fee implemented, or medical health services for students.” 

After the virus hit, in Spring 2020, ASDVC had initially asked the college to hire a nurse who could offer in-person health services on campus. However, the pandemic prompted the student body to propose a virtual model instead.

“This is brand new to DVC. We have not offered health services in the past in person or virtual,” said Emily Stone, Dean of Student Support Services. “This is indeed a joint effort between the college and the ASDVC, demonstrating what is possible when we collaborate around important initiatives such as this one.” 

Under Stone’s leadership, DVC has formed a Basic Needs Advisory that works to coordinate efforts supporting students’ basic needs, including health, housing, food insecurity and financial assistance. For more information, students are encouraged to visit www.dvc.edu/basic-needs.