Valerie Gruss PhD, APRN, GNP-BC, FAAN

Dr. Valerie Gruss is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She is a board-certified gerontological nurse practitioner and geriatric researcher. She has a broad range of expertise and extensive clinical and research experience working with geriatric patients and multidisciplinary teams in a variety of settings. In addition to teaching in the graduate nursing program at UIC, she is a clinical consultant/research collaborator on a Federal Demonstration Project for the State of Illinois, called “Money Follows the Person,” which transitions eligible seniors out of nursing homes and back to the community. 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.Dr. Gruss’ initial research involved implementing “culture change’ on dementia care units. Recent research includes development of a practice algorithm: "Evidence Based Treatment of Behavioral Symptoms of Persons with Dementia." Dr. Gruss has translated this research into an interactive algorithm via a downloadable application ("App").