Group: APPs

Franchesca Neil is a compassionate and dedicated Cardiovascular Nurse Practitioner with over 14 years of experience.

She began her career as a nurse and found her passion for cardiovascular health after working as a Chest Pain and Cardiac Rehabilitation Coordinator. She earned her Masters in Nursing and Family Nurse Practitioner degree from Regis University in Colorado. She brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise from practicing in both hospital and office-based cardiovascular care. 

With the innovation of virtual care her goal is to improve access to heart care in the continuation of providing high quality evidence-based care and improving health outcomes. Her approach for health promotion and prevention is through patient education and empowering patients with the tools and knowledge so they are able to improve their heart health outcomes.

In her spare time, Franchesca enjoys spending time with her family, painting, hiking or paddleboarding in the Colorado sun.

Melissa Brands, APRN, FNP-C, is a board certified family nurse practitioner with over 13 years experience in cardiology. Her background includes comprehensive experience in general cardiology, heart failure management, and electrophysiology.

Melissa is passionate about helping patients improve their heart health, restore function, and feel their best. Known for compassionate care and thoughtful problem solving, she is dedicated to making a meaningful difference in each patient’s life.

A proud mother of five, she lives in Tennessee and brings both clinical expertise and personal warmth to her practice every day.

Marja Dempsey is a dual-certified nurse practitioner with over 15 years in cardiovascular health. Marja began her career as a registered nurse before earning a Master of Science in Nursing from UCLA (2008) and later a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Vanderbilt University (2015). Over the years, she has cultivated expertise in managing chronic cardiovascular conditions, patient education and team-based care.

Her professional approach is rooted in evidence-based practice and compassionate care, ensuring patients receive personalized treatment plans that address their unique health needs. 

Outside of work Marja is passionate about creating a balanced life that includes time with her family and her love of gardening and baking.

Stacey Pratt is a board-certified physician assistant who graduated from Eastern Virginia Medical School with a Master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies in 2009. Her experience includes primarily cardiology, but she also has spent time in the fields of pulmonary/critical care medicine and gastroenterology.

Since beginning work with Heartbeat Health she has been published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in relation to her work in virtual cardiology.  Areas of interest include heart failure and preventative medicine. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family outdoors going camping and hiking. 

Halary Patch is a Cardiac Nurse Practitioner with Heartbeat Health.  She comes to Heartbeat with almost two decades of both inpatient and outpatient cardiac experience.  She began her career as a nurse in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Mass General Hospital after graduating with her Bachelors degree from Colby-Sawyer College. 

After pursuing her Masters degree from Boston College, she went on to specialize in Advanced Heart Failure, Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support (LVAD) at Mass General.  During her time at MGH, she was involved in several clinical trials including TRANSMEDICs, helped develop a 30 day readmission program for heart failure patients and graduated from the MGH Clinical Process Improvement Leadership Program .

In 2017, Halary joined a large primary care practice in southern NH to develop a cardiac program focusing on managing patients across the spectrum from preventative cardiology to advanced heart failure.  She is a member of the American College of Cardiology, Heart Failure Society of America and American Nurses Credentialing Center. Halary lives in the White Mountains of NH on a small farm. She loves spending time with her family, traveling, hiking, fishing and being outdoors. 

Lindsey Mandrayar graduated Eastern Virginia Medical School with a Master in Physician Assistant in 2017. After graduation she began working with Sentara Mid-Atlantic Cardiothoracic Surgeons in Norfolk, Virginia. She worked as a first assistant in the operating room and also was dual credentialed with pulmonary critical care as a provider in the cardiothoracic surgery intensive care unit until March 2021.

In March of 2021, she began working with Heartbeat Health. She spearheaded the Virginia Cardiovascular Specialists/Optum coordinated program which published its outcomes as an abstract in the American Heart Association demonstrating “A virtual cardiology program significantly reduced readmissions compared to traditional outpatient care.”

She has since been instrumental in various projects within Heartbeat and currently supports a longitudinal cardiovascular program providing dedication and excellence in care to all her patients. In her downtime she enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, baking, and reading.