Leading Health Forward
The Health Sciences are a core pillar of Marshall University, shaping the future of West Virginia’s workforce, wellbeing and economy as we advance solutions to the state’s most urgent health challenges and prepare the next generation of health care leaders.
Through our Centers of Wellness—which unite our strengths in addiction and behavioral health; gerontology and healthy aging; obesity and diabetes; and rural health and primary care—we are driving statewide progress in health care access, education and innovation and improving outcomes across Appalachia.
Health Workforce Shortages
West Virginia faces shortages across nearly every health profession—especially in rural and underserved communities—impacting patient access, hospital sustainability and economic development.
How Marshall Leads:
- Marshall offers one of the region’s most comprehensive health education pipelines, including programs in medicine, physician assistant, nursing, pharmacy, public health, physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychology, communication disorders, health informatics and more.
- Across the School of Medicine and the Marshall Community Health Consortium, 29 residency and fellowship programs prepare physicians who overwhelmingly remain in-state, with 51% of our graduates since 2019 staying in West Virginia or in the Tri-State area.
- Over the past five years, the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine has educated 316 West Virginia medical residents, which is more than any other medical school in the state.
- Our goal is 100% full-time employment for all of our students upon graduation.
Addressing Substance Use
West Virginia has experienced disproportionate impacts from the national opioid epidemic, contributing to workforce loss, rising health care costs and significant strain on families and communities.
How Marshall Leads:
- Marshall is responding through the work of the School of Medicine’s Division of Addiction Sciences and the Marshall University Center of Excellence for Recovery, delivering a comprehensive, evidence-based continuum of care—including medication-assisted treatment (MAT), outpatient and residential services, recovery supports and workforce re-entry programs.
- In addition to care delivery, Marshall is training addiction specialists, behavioral health clinicians and community-based providers, strengthening the state’s capacity to respond.
- These efforts, coupled with emerging research and translational science initiatives, have positioned Marshall as a national model in addiction medicine and recovery innovation.
Chronic Diseases Care
West Virginia ranks among the highest in the nation for adult and childhood obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease—conditions that significantly drive health care spending and shorten life expectancy.
How Marshall Leads:
- Marshall strengthens access to preventive care, nutrition counseling, chronic disease management and innovative research.
- With an education pipeline spanning nutrition, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and allied health, we train providers to reduce the burden of chronic disease statewide while accelerating patient outcomes through wearable technologies and AI.
An Aging Population
As one of the oldest states in the nation, West Virginia faces rising rates of dementia, cancer, heart disease and other age-related conditions that strain families and health systems.
How Marshall Leads:
- Marshall focuses on improving quality of life for older adults through geriatric research, dementia care innovations, caregiver support and community-based services.
- Fellowships in geriatric medicine and geriatric psychiatry encourage Marshall-trained providers to stay in West Virginia, ensuring ongoing access to specialized care.
Limited Access to Rural Health Care
Many West Virginians face long travel distances, limited provider availability and geographic barriers that delay or prevent needed care.
How Marshall Leads:
- Marshall is expanding care into rural communities through mobile outreach, telehealth delivery and nationally leading rural-track residencies in internal medicine, general surgery, psychiatry and family medicine.
- With mobile care initiatives, such as Marco Mobile Medicine, we’re meeting patients where they are and strengthening access to high-quality care across the region.
Driving Innovation, Research & Economic Growth
Persistent health disparities require new approaches, new technologies and research tailored to the realities of rural and Appalachian communities.
How Marshall Leads:
- Marshall’s research enterprise—from addiction science to cancer biology to rural health innovation—attracts competitive funding and drives discoveries that advance care.
- These innovations fuel economic growth, expand access to clinical trials and build partnerships that bring new opportunities to Appalachia.
- Marshall University’s leadership of WV-INBRE fuels West Virginia’s “grow your own” effort by delivering immersive research and mentorship experiences that develop and retain future biomedical researchers.