Valerie Blechle graduated from Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville with her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. She is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University with Master of Science in Nursing and specialty focus of Family Nurse Practitioner. Valerie is a Licensed Advanced Practice Nurse board certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society. Valerie joined the practice in 2014.​Valerie is a Chester native and decided to continue her practice at Memorial due to the small town caring mentality. She loves the providers and Rural Health Clinic staff she gets to work with each day. Because of them, coming to work each day is fun and they are always eager to help as much as possible.

When asked to describe the Memorial Hospital team in one word, she choose, "Dedication." She feels there is a mutual respect among all providers. Each day brings new challenges and she welcomes the diversity in patients and health. She especially loves her well baby visits with newborns and work with lesions and abscesses. She feels blessed to love her career and be so close to home where she can still care for her three amazing kids. In 2022, she is celebrating her 10th year as a Nurse Practitioner.