Use of the student health services is growing as well. While Connolly didn’t provide growth figures, she said the clinic is visited by about 5,000 students annually, or roughly a third of the total student population. (The number of visits is much higher, Connolly said.)

The clinic also sees students in training rooms and offer off-site services such as flu-shot and general wellness clinics throughout campus in classrooms, residence halls or at campus events.

Gauging student use, Connolly said students use the clinic as their primary care facility.

“This includes physical exams, annual exams for women, treatment of illnesses, injuries, allergies, asthma, etc. Colds and flu are probably the most common services of every clinic and this is true here also,” she said. “(They also use us for) immunizations and allergy shots, birth control, and treatment for sports and other injuries.”

Student Whitney Barringer, a junior from Red Wing, said the clinic was a convenient place for her to go when she had strep throat.

“It was handy because I could just walk there,” she said.

But she doesn’t go there anymore, she said, because of the hours. When she needed medical attention on a Sunday, they weren’t open, she said.

“I go somewhere else now,” she said. “The hours weren’t helpful.”

Connolly said they try to work with students and their needs, which sometimes means dealing with uninsured students.

About 15 percent of the students who come to Student Health Services are uninsured. All students are welcome, she said.

“Our fees are very reasonable,” she said, “and keeping costs affordable allows everyone to access our services.”

For Johnson, the graduate student, going to the Student Health Services feels like going to any other clinic.

“People have told me they’re just as happy with the service here as anywhere else,” she said.