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Oaklawn welcomes family medicine with obstetrics physician Tess Meklir, M.D.

MARSHALL – From an early age, Tess Meklir had a powerful idea of what she wanted to be when she grew up.

“Even when I was about 4 or 5 years old, I was interested in science and how the human body works,” she said. “My mom used to say that, when I was young, I wanted to be a doctor and deliver babies.”

Now, in her role as a family medicine with obstetrics physician, Meklir is joining the Oaklawn Medical Group, based primarily at the group’s Beadle Lake site at 14231 Beadle Lake Road, Battle Creek.

Meklir also will work out of Marshall Primary Care in Suite 1E of the Wright Medical Building at 215 E. Mansion St., Marshall. Appointments at the Beadle Lake site may be made by calling (269) 962-0441, and at the Marshall site by calling (269) 781-3938.

Meklir grew up in the Michigan communities of Oak Park and Hamtramck.Her family participated in outreach activities assisting homeless populations and her parents volunteered at a hospice organization, bringing her along to help take care of patients there. Meklir later volunteered through hospice on my own.

“That really helped solidify my desire to go into medicine,” she said, adding that she performed volunteer work in Costa Rica and Ecuador and during undergraduate and medical school, providing care to indigent communities in Detroit.

“Being interested in science, it just made sense by high school that I was very serious about wanting to be a doctor,” she said. “I also traveled to Texas for a health program aimed at young people, and I was really hooked.”

After graduation from high school in Berkley, Meklir earned a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry and chemical biology from Wayne State University in 2014, and received her degree as a medical doctor from the same institution in 2018. She completed her residency in Anchorage, Alaska, and went on to participate in a family medicine surgical obstetrics fellowship at the University of Missouri, which she completed earlier this year.

“My goal is to help patients in all walks of life and from different socioeconomic backgrounds,” she said. “I’m open-minded and strive to make my patients feel comfortable. That’s a reason I wanted to do obstetrics, because I can help patients whom I get to know well during a vulnerable time in their lives.”

Meklir is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Medical Women’s Association and Phi Delta Epsilon Medical Fraternity

She is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and is additionally certified in basic life support, advanced cardiac life support, advanced life support in obstetrics, advanced trauma life support, pediatric advanced life support and neonatal resuscitation.

Meklir and her husband of two years, Ben Newton, moved to Marshall in July and have an infant son, Graham. Their household includes cats Yoshi and Bella and a black Labrador retriever named Lando.

Newton’s background is in mental health social work and is “an amazing cook,” according to Meklir. The couple especially enjoy exploring new cuisines and exploring regional restaurants.

In her spare time, Meklir enjoys such outdoor activities as backpacking, hiking and whitewater rafting, listening to music and traveling in the continental United States as well as South America and Central America.

“For the past four years, we’ve lived away in Alaska and Missouri and we wanted to come back,” Meklir said. “My family and my husband’s family are in Michigan and we wanted to be close to family. Being in Marshall puts us within driving distance from our families,” she added.

“Also, I really like the idea of getting to know the people in a community, so coming here was a perfect combination of being able to do obstetrics with family medicine in such a beautiful place. My husband and I both enjoy older architecture and the historic community, and there always seems to be a lot going on here.”