Ms. Gruber joined Cooper in 1989 and has advanced from a staff nurse to her current position of Assistant Vice President, Nursing Operations. She provides operational oversight for Emergency Services, Urgent Care Centers, Inpatient Psychiatry, Cooper Transfer Center, Supplemental Staffing, and Logistics.

Throughout her tenure, Ms. Gruber has been integral to the growth of Emergency Nursing at Cooper. She was instrumental in the launch of the Clinical Decision Unit as well as the Cooper Urgent Care Centers. As director of the Cooper Transfer Center, which accepts 5,000 patient transfers a year from area hospitals, she works closely with Cooper Air and Ground Transport to insure patient admission to Cooper’s specialty care programs.

Ms. Gruber is a retired Captain of the United States Navy Corps. She was awarded the Military Employee of the Year award at Cooper in 2020 for her extraordinary nursing leadership during the pandemic, participation in the COVID-19 Regional Command Center, and in working with the team in establishing the field base to care for COVID-19 patients. She also has led numerous initiatives aimed at improving health care access, health screenings, and COVID-19 testing sites.

Ms. Gruber is an active member of the New Jersey Hospital Association and Organization of Nurse Leaders of New Jersey. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wagner College in Staten Island, NY. She is also certified as an emergency nurse, nurse executive, and a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt.