Newswise — Anne Gross, PhD, RN NEA-BC, FAAN, has been named Senior Vice President for Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, effective December 1, 2016.

Gross joined Dana-Farber in 2002 after 12 years at Cambridge Health Alliance as the nursing leader in Oncology and Medical Specialties. During her 14 years at Dana-Farber, she has developed a distinguished record of advancing relationship-based care, which is the foundation of the Institute’s interdisciplinary approach to patient care. She led the development of Dana-Farber’s primary nursing model in infusion. Her priority has always been to improve the care and experience of patients and their families.

“Anne has a deep passion, knowledge and commitment to nursing, to our patients and their families, and an appreciation of the role of research in providing the best of care. Her leadership is consistently recognized and her knowledge sought out across Dana-Farber and our partner institutions. We are excited to have such a skilled and caring professional as Anne step into this very important role,” said Laurie Glimcher, MD, president and CEO, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Gross is a national leader in oncology nursing as an author, reviewer, and regular contributor to the oncology nursing literature. As a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, she is a member of the most distinguished group of nurses in the country. She is co-chair elect of that Academy’s Fellows Selection Committee, a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Boston, and an active member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), Best Practices Committee. Gross represents Dana-Farber at the NCI-designated comprehensive Cancer Center Nurse Executive Committee.

As principal investigator on many cancer care studies, Gross’s research focuses on advancing nursing practice and interdisciplinary teamwork. She is currently the principal investigator (PI) for the Zarkin Program for Staff Renewal and Rejuvenation, an endowed donor-funded program designed to reduce stress and promote renewal and rejuvenation for clinical nurses at work. During the last year, Gross has overseen the creation of a residency program to train research nurses at Dana-Farber and hopes to continue developing programs to advance the practice of oncology nursing in her new role.

Gross succeeds Patricia Reid Ponte, RN, DNSc, FAAN, NEA-BC, who was in the role for 16 years and will remain at the Institute as Nursing Scholar in Residence.