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There is a career for everyone.

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There is a career for everyone.

Learn More

The Blue Ridge Partnership for Health Science Careers is a collaboration of educators, employers, and economic development professionals in the Roanoke and New River Valleys, the Alleghany Highlands, and the greater Lynchburg region. As members of GO Virginia Region 2, we’re committed to improving health sciences education and aligning instruction to meet the workforce needs of the region’s health employers, including hospitals, health systems, long-term care facilities, and emerging biomedical companies.

Our Partnership uses a new model for health sciences education and workforce development that:

• Meets the rapidly growing need for qualified clinical and administrative staff
• Supports the region’s emerging health and life sciences sector
• Attracts established companies seeking to expand or relocate

The BRPHSC model aligns with the region’s economic development and job growth goals to establish practical talent pathways, meet employer needs, promote entrepreneurship and provide meaningful health careers.

What does this mean for you? BRPHSC is your one-stop-shop for information about navigating a career in the health sciences.


Stephanie Noel-Branch

Stephanie Noel-Branch had a career in retail management spanning 14 years before transitioning to medicine. With her husband Mickey’s encouragement and added support at home, Noel-Branch went back to school part-time, first obtaining her GED and then earning her associate degree in nursing at Mountain Gateway Community College and started working in the resource pool at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Working in that position, Carilion offered tuition reimbursement or advancement opportunities, which was essential in helping Noel-Branch graduate with her bachelor's degree through Jefferson College of Health Science. One of the things Noel-Branch loves about nursing is the many disciplines within the field. Aside from fulfilling hands-on patient care, it’s a family-sustaining career with the benefits of eventual retirement and teaching opportunities to pass on the knowledge learned on the job.

Stephanie Noel-Branch

Mickey Branch

Mickey Branch had just graduated high school when he began his career in the medical field in 1981. He started as an orderly, working his way up to being a surgical technician by the age of 19. Learning on the job, he was trained to assist physicians in various specialties in the operating room. Through continuing education programs, Branch’s skills advanced. To bring his career full circle, Branch now gets to be a mentor for the new surgical assistants that train with him at Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital. He encourages others interested in the field to do their research into procedures and specialties that interest them, advising that medicine is always changing, and lifelong learning is a must for any professional today.

Mickey Branch

Latest Events

June 26, 2023

VCOM Summer Camp – June

A free science-based STEM-H Camp at VCOM-Virginia the weeks of…

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July 10, 2023

VCOM Summer Camp – July

A free science-based STEM-H Camp at VCOM-Virginia the weeks of…

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July 25, 2023

Centra Health Career Camps 2023 – July

Centra’s summer Health Career Camps provide students with the opportunity…

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August 2, 2023

Centra Health Career Camps 2023 – August

Centra’s summer Health Career Camps provide students with the opportunity…

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