Rochester’s mid-October flood event left the Nigerian born GP and his Campaspe Medical Centre operation without a home, having operated from within the Rochester and Elmore District Health Service.
They are operating just south of the flood-damaged REDHS facility, on Village Dve, at a makeshift clinic.
And while the clinic’s relocation has meant major unheaval for Dr Ekeanyanwu and his team he is acutely aware of just how many people are significantly worse off.
“I am speaking to patients regularly who are living all over Australia and don’t know when they will be able to come home,” Dr Ekeanyanwu said.
Dr Ekeanyanwu is also keeping one eye on his homeland, Nigeria, which has suffered extreme flooding in the past few months and resulted in 600 deaths.
There have been 200,000 homes inundated by floodwater and millions displaced in the north-east African country.
Campaspe Medical Centre has been supported in it relocation by the hospital, which operates a hub at the same location in Village Dve.
“The hospital CEO was kind enough to help us out,” he said.
“A lot of our clients are still away, but we really wanted to let people that we are working out of these new offices.
“Several of the appointments I am conducting are via tele health and people can ring in for scripts and advice.”
Dr Ekeanyanwu said it was, however, important to many of his patients to have an “in-person’’ appointment.
“I am doing about 10 tele health and 20 face-to-face appointents a day at the moment,” he said.
“In the past 24 hours I’ve spoken to people who are patients of the clinic who are living in Bairnsdale, Canberra, Melbourne and Echuca.”
Dr Ekeanyanwu said familiarity is what people were craving and they appreciated hearing, and seeing, a Rochester voice and fade.
Like so may other businesses in Rochester the clinic is expecting a long-term residency at its current base.
“In my head I am thinking it could be two years before we get back to normal,” he said.
Patients missing appointments was a concern with the doctor, seveal placing health lower on the priority list as they try to get their lives back on track.
“People’s health, like it did in some instances during COVID, is taking a back seat,” Dr Ekeanyanwu said.
“People tell us they are waiting for an assessor or, because they weren’t really sick, put off the appointment so they can continue the clean up.”
He said Rochester was a very face-to-face community and because of that it was important the clinic made appointments available.
“Where and when they can we are encouraging people to come to the clinic,” he said.
“People are quite impressive with their attitude, they are accepting and always thinking of the next person.”
Clinic staff have maintained strong contact with patients and will continue to offer appointments five days a week, along with an after-hours phone service.
Dr Ekeanyanwu said the magnitude of the most recent flood event was something he had not experienced.
“In 2011 the water only got to my doorsteps. The difference this time is how many people it has affected,” he said.
“The impact on the community is far more widespread.”
He said his home town in Nigeria was not in the flood zone, but 10 of the country’s 36 states (home to the nation’s 212 million people) had been decimated.
The medical centre played a lead role during the flood in supporting patients who were based at the Bendigo relief centre.
Dr Ekeanyanwu said people should be very careful with infections from cuts and rashes that had become worse through contact with floodwater.
“There are a lot of rashes and cuts out there, along with infected wounds,” he said.
“People should be very careful with infections.”
