ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke is remembering the Burrell Memorial Hospital, a health care center founded during segregation.
The Burrell Memorial Hospital was founded by five Black physicians in Roanoke, Virginia in 1915, and named for Dr. Isaac Burrell. Dr. Burrell was one of the founders’ colleagues, and he died after being forced to leave the city for emergency surgery because, at the time, local hospitals would not treat Black patients. Burrell Memorial Hospital became the regional center of medical care and training for Black communities across western Virginia.
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“It’s a tragic story to think that here is a physician who couldn’t get the care that he needed in his own community simply by the color of his skin,” said Former Roanoke Mayor and Local Historian Nelson Harris.
History: From a House to a Regional Hospital
The hospital started in a residential house. In the early 1920s, the hospital moved into an old school building, the Alleghany Institute, in Northwest Roanoke. In 1955, a new hospital was built on Mercer Avenue; that building today is the Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare.
The Burrell Memorial Hospital served patients across 17 counties in western Virginia.
“Burrell Memorial Hospital has a had a remarkable History as an African American hospital here in Roanoke,” said Harris.
The healthcare center offered everything from medical training to surgery. At Burrell Memorial Hospital, there was a nurse training school that became one of the leading nursing schools in the state.
“I think for Burrell Memorial Hospital, the fact that it became the epicenter of health care for blacks here in Western Virginia allowed our community to attract medical professionals that we wouldn’t have had,” said Harris.
Creating the State Historical Marker
Harris also led efforts to secure a state historical marker honoring Burrell Memorial Hospital. He made an application.
“It’s a little bit of a process. It takes about a year and a half from the time you make an application until you go through the approval process and the foundry actually produces the marker, and it’s on site and unveiled. So you have to be patient, but it’s well worth the effort when you see the marker and know that it’s there permanently telling the story,” said Harris.
Continuing the Mission: Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare
Burrell Memorial Hospital closed in the 1970s, but the site continues to serve the community’s health needs. The former hospital building now houses Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare, which treats people with mental health conditions, addiction, and people with developmental disabilities throughout Roanoke City and Salem. Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare also serves people in Botetourt, Craig, and Roanoke Counties.
Legacy and Community Impact
Harris said while Burrell Memorial Hospital is closed, it still has a lasting legacy.
“I know a lot of Roanokers that will come up to me and say, well, my mom got her nurses training at Burrell, and they’ll be in the healthcare profession themselves as a result of their mom being a nurse or their father being a physician,” said Harris. “I often think to myself, as I walk away from a conversation like that, you know, that young man or that young woman may not be in healthcare today if it had not been for their parent or an older sibling or an aunt or an uncle being part of Burrell Memorial Hospital.”