Does Anybody (Timely)Care?
Illustration by Noelle Mitcham
Article by Reese Borchert
NEWBERG Ore. – According to the Pew Research Center, many registered voters report healthcare as being “very important” to how they cast their ballot. People value their well-being and feel frustrated when it seems inaccessible due to cost, location, legalities and complications. A component of George Fox University’s (GFU) Health and Counseling Services is TimelyCare, which eliminates at least two of these barriers.
“It provides coverage during breaks, weekends and the middle of the night,” says Bill Buhrow, the director of GFU Health and Counseling Services.
Hours of operation don’t apply, as students can open the app 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Despite that advantage, endless forms and incomprehensible diagnoses are present in the system for students seeking care.
A message included in the Daily Bruin asked readers to share their experiences with TimelyCare anonymously. The sample consisted of a few sophomores and upperclassmen, most of whom live on campus. The online survey reported that 92% had heard of the resource, with 65% never needing to use it. While 70% have not encountered difficulties, the other 30% were an unhappy lot.
One response details an ordeal where the respondent went to the Health and Counseling Services office in search of a nurse but were presented the TimelyCare QR code instead.
“All I wanted was to talk to a real human being and just ask, yes or no, if it was worth going to the hospital or not.” This respondent’s situation required a quick examination that could not be conducted through a screen.
To continue the search for a health assessment, they went to the most direct and emergency call option in TimelyCare, which still required them to complete steps like entering height and weight. Considering this person’s condition, there was nowhere on campus for them to step on the scale.
“I ended up having to eat the cost of an ER visit. Swapping an actual nurse's office for a FaceTime app added a barrier to accessing health,” says the same respondent. In their message, they convey that young adults are already notorious for procrastination and anxiety, and additional obstacles discourage them further from proactively pursuing wellbeing.
“The cost of a visit to Providence has always depended on the student’s individual insurance plan,” says Buhrow. A program that used to cap the maximum cost for an on-campus clinic visit at $75 no longer exists.
The on-campus clinic was discontinued before the start of the 2025-2026 academic year. Buhrow says it was “a decision made by Providence last spring due to extremely low utilization.”
One person’s unfortunate episode was not isolated, as another respondent outlines how they sought assistance in TimelyCare twice.
“In this situation, TimelyCare left us to figure it out on our own,” they say, after the first instance when their roommate called in order to help them and was dismissed because this violated TimelyCare’s protocol. Secondly, they were profusely throwing up and knew that one solution was ordering an IV at the ER. To avoid the expensive trip and learn about possible other options, TimelyCare was consulted.
“The doctor didn’t even initially answer the phone. It was someone working at the hospital to ask me questions again,” they say. After finally reaching the doctor, they had no additional advice. The respondent considers themself lucky to have a friend awake at 3 a.m. who was able to drive them to Providence, as they didn’t have a car.
Both times, this student was thwarted by extensive forms and login confirmations and ultimately resolved the issue by themself. These stories are in addition to the caller connection and technical difficulties claimed by GFU students in the survey.
Meanwhile, specialized healing equipment is readily available to the clusters of athletes who recover their muscles in the Wheeler Sports Facility using Normatec gear–a technology that speeds an individual's recovery via an air compression system.
Around 748 of GFU students are on a sports team, which means a large percentage of the student population is provided with services in accordance with the NCAA’s guidelines to ensure athlete safety.
Taylor Franklin, a junior on the baseball team, suffered a flexor tendon injury in his arm and was able to undergo surgery within a week. Franklin notes that TimelyCare was a part of the procedure as he used the tool to complete forms but was ultimately guided by the athletic staff.
“It’s basically all through Gregg,” says Tytan Cowan, a freshman defensive tackle, about the football team’s athletic trainer, Gregg Boughton. If a player requires medical attention, he is quick to their aid and encompasses a wide range of roles.
Similarly, Leah Meeuwsen, a freshman swimmer, says that Michael Morikawa provides physical therapy for the swim team, whether the pain started during a practice, or the injury was existing from before collegiate athletic
The athletic trainers assigned to each team treat the body back to health regardless of whether the incident occurred in a competition. Franklin says a teammate compound fractured his leg playing pickup basketball during the summer and has been receiving care from the baseball staff.
These in-person resources are instrumental to young adults navigating their own medical responsibilities yet there is no counterpart for the traditional student since Providence’s exit.
After graduation, TimelyCare goes away, along with other protections granted to students by GFU. If the topic of healthcare persuaded 65% of voters in the 2024 election, how much does it affect college students? And will the process of receiving aid in wellbeing become easier in the foreseeable future?
