The Barriere Medical Clinic is welcoming Dr. Mark Akangoziri and his family to the community. Dr. Akangoziri started his first week at the clinic on March 17, learning the computer system and other protocols.
"The experience has been good," Dr. Akangoziri told the Barriere Star / Journal on Saturday, March 22. " We've met nice people. We've been in Barriere almost six months now as I had to go through my medical assessment. We are excited to be here. We have four children. Our 17-year-old son will be graduating from Barriere Secondary this year and we have twins that are 15-years-old, a boy and a girl, also at the high school in Barriere. Our oldest daughter is 18 turning 19 in a week and she is applying for post secondary to a number of different institutions and is interested in the arts."
Dr. Akangoziri was working in Saudi Arabia and the family was in Nigeria before coming to B.C. He says the kids like going to school in Canada "very much" and although they originally thought they would possibly return for post secondary in Nigeria, after coming to Barriere they all want to stay and pursue post secondary in Canada now. His wife, Ugochi (Cecilia), was a trained laboratory technician in Nigeria and is hoping to gain her certification here and possibly work in the North Thompson as well.
"We were told this wasn't a very cold winter, but it felt cold to us," he added with a laugh. "We are used to it now though becoming acclimated. We like it here. Someone came in from Lake Country with Interior Health (IH) to assist me in learning the system and getting used to the processes at the clinic. We are hoping in the coming week we may do some telephone visits to onboard patients. I'm looking forward to starting doctor - patient relationships soon."
The new doctor is also eager for things being set up soon with administration, helping to populate patients health profiles through Interior Health that will then lead to actual physical visits with him in future and eventually start booking appointments. Local residents are excited for him to start, he said. "We are looking forward to experiencing the Fall Fair, we've heard about it and just missed it when we arrived last fall. When it snowed it was our first experience seeing everything covered with snow all white. We came outside to play. It's exciting to see the deer walking around because they know they are protected in town."
His family is also looking forward to going to the local Farmer's Markets this spring, he said.
