valerie-gruss
Valerie Gruss, PhD, APN, CNP-BC
Clinical Associate Professor

University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
USA
Phone: (312) 996-2193
E-mail: vgruss@uic.edu

Education

2007 PhD Nursing Science, Rush University, Chicago, IL
1998 MSN Geriatric Nurse Practitioner, Rush University, Chicago, IL
1994 BSN Nursing, Lewis University, Romoville,IL
1976 ADN Nursing, Truman College, Chicago, IL

Biography

Valerie Gruss is a board-certified Nurse Practitioner and Researcher. Her overall research focus is improving care of the older adult. She has a broad range of clinical expertise and research experience working in primary care and with multidisciplinary teams in a variety of settings. Dr. Gruss’ position blends her roles as educator, clinician, and researcher. In 2015, as PI, she was awarded a three-year, $2.5 million dollar HRSA Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) grant to establish and operate a geriatric education program preparing primary care professionals to work in interprofessional teams and provide high-quality, patient-centered care to older adults. She was awarded the UIC College of Nursing’s ‘2010 Faculty Practice Award’ and was honored with the “Best Care Practices in the Geriatrics Continuum” award by the American Medical Directors Association, 2008.


Research Interest

  • Improving care of the older adult
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Antipsychotic medication

Scientific Activities

Professional Experience
  2008 - Present Clinical Associate Professor , Department of Biobehavioral Health Science &
Institute of Health Care Innovation, University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois
Lead Clinical Consultant, Department of Aging, “Money Follows the Person/Pathways to Community Living/Money Follows the Person”, Federal Project, Illinois
1998 - 2008 Adult Nurse Practitioner, Primary Care/Geriatric Clinic, Private Practice with Tessa Fisher, MD, Evanston, Illinois
1993 – 1998 Clinical Nurse/Charge Nurse, Long-term Care, Holy Family Health Center, Des Plaines, Illinois
1980 – 1991 Clinical Home Care Nurse, Private Duty, Community Care, Chicago, Illinois
1976 – 1980 Staff nurse, Medical-Surgical Unit, Our Lady of the Resurrection Hospital, Chicago, Illinois
Other Activities

Honors and Awards

2018 Excellence in Education, Gerontological Advance Practice Nurses Association, September 2018
2018 Fellow, American Academy of Nursing, Inducted November 3, 2018, Washington, D.C.
2017 Chicago Sister Cities International Program, Chicago-Shanghai Services Exchange, Official Delegate, 8-Person Geriatric Expert Panel, Shanghai, China, October 2017
2017 Judith Storfjel Distinguished Award for Scholarly Practice
2016 Gerontological Advance Practice Nurses Association, 2016 Excellence in Research Award
2015-2016 Teaching Recognition Program Award
2015 Gerontological Advance Practice Nurses Association Foundation Research Award
2010 Faculty Practice Award
2008 Best Career in Long Term Care Award

Publications

  1. Kottorp, A., Keehn, M., Hasnain, M., Gruss, V., Peterson, E., (2018) Instrument Refinement for Measuring Self-Efficacy for Competence in Interprofessional Collaborative Practice: Development and Psychometric Analysis of IPECC-SET 27 and IPECC-SET 9. Journal of Interprofessional Care.
  2. Mitzen, P., Gruss, V., (2018) American Society on Aging, Aging Today, Aging Services Go Global-From Shanghai to Chicago and Back.
  3. Peterson, E., Koronkowski, M., Hasnain, M., & Gruss, V., (2017) UIC’s Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program “ENGAGE-IL” Leads to Educational Opportunities for Occupational Therapy Practitioners. The Illinois Occupational Therapy Association Communiqué, 4, 6-7.
  4. Hasnain, M., Keehn, M., Gruss, V., Koronkowski, M., Altfeld, S., Mitchell, C., Association for Prevention Teaching and Research, APTR/CDC IPE Small Grant Program, UIC Transforming Health Disparities through Interprofessional Education, Research and Service. APTR Academic Innovation Models website. http://www.academicinnovationmodels.org/interprofessional.html
  5. McCann, P, Lewis, A., Gruss, V., (2017) Antipsychotic Medication Use in Illinois Skilled Nursing Facilities: A Rational Approach to Change, The Director, Patient & Resident Safety Issue, 2017
  6. Hasnain, M., Gruss, V., Keehn, M., Peterson, E., Valenta, A. L., & Kottorp, A. (2017). Development and Validation of a Tool to Assess Self-Efficacy for Competence in Interprofessional Collaborative Practice. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 31(2), 255-262.
  7. Lee, C. H., Gruss, V., Stuercke, M., & Ryan, C. J. (2016). Relation of Stop and Watch Tool Use in a Skilled Nursing Facility to 30-Day Hospital Transfer Rates. Jour Nursing Home Res, 2, 104-109.
  8. Oosterhouse, K. J., Vincent, C., Foreman, M. D., Gruss, V., Corte, C., & Berger, B. (2016). Intensive Care Unit Nurses’ Beliefs About Delirium Assessment and Management. AACN Advanced Critical Care, 27(4), 379-393.
  9. Koplow, S., Gallo, A., Knafl, K., Vincent, C., Paun , O., Gruss, V. A Case Study Approach to Nursing Home Placement: Smooth and Difficult Cases and Implications for Nursing, Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 41(7), 58-64.
  10. Koplow, S., Gallo, A., Knafl, K., Vincent, C, Paun, O., Gruss, V. (2015) Family Caregivers Define and manage the Nursing Home Placement Process, Journal of Family Nursing, doi:10.1177/1074840715571365
  11. Gruss, V. (2009) “I think there’s a worm in my throat- GERD”, The Nurse Practitioner, doi: 10.1097/01.NPR.0000363581.44493.25
  12.   Gruss, V., McCann, J.J., Edelman, P., Farran, C.J. (2004) Job stress among nursing home certified nursing assistants: Comparison of empowered and non-empowered work environments. Alzheimer’s Care Quarterly, 5(3), 207-216.

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