Stephanie Grutz, ARNP, FNP-C is a board certified family nurse practitioner, specializing in integrative medicine. She was born and raised in Dubuque and loves watching the constant growth and transformation of this City. Her goal is to work with the community and other providers to make Dubuque one of the healthiest places to live!
“An Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure” – Benjamin Franklin
What is integrative medicine? I like people to think integrative medicine as a balance between conventional medicine and a more natural healing art form. I think it is important to use conventional medicine when appropriate, and understand that finding the root cause of problems is key to maintaining optimal health. A lot of my patients have seen 10-30 doctors/providers only to have been prescribed medications with minimal or short term effectiveness. Most patients want to dig further for answers, they want to find out WHY they are having symptoms vs getting a pill to mask symptoms they are experiencing. Learn More about Integrative Medicine.
Why did I become an integrative practitioner? I have struggled with my own autoimmune diseases since I was in high school. As I became a family nurse practitioner, I searched for ways to heal myself. I learned that many autoimmune problems stem from the gut. I was exposed to a lot of toxins and infectious microbes growing up (heavy metals, chemicals, food sensitivities, mold, Lyme, etc.). “Cleaning out” my body over the more recent years with diet, lifestyle, and nutritional support, has been life changing for me.
Who are my patients? I work with a wide range of patients and over the past few years I have been honing in on working with patients that have a cancer diagnosis, as an integrative oncology practitioner. Cancer is a complex illness and what I have found is that one approach is never enough. Just addressing the tumor without addressing the environment the tumor was created in, almost always leads back to recurrence. In 2021 I had the honor of becoming a “Terrain Based Cancer Expert”, with training from the amazing, Nasha Winters (author of the book “Metabolic Approach to Cancer”). I have also attended numerous integrative cancer conferences with the last one being in Fall 2021, hosted by another close friend and mentor of mine, Dr. Paul Anderson (author of “Outside the Box Cancer Therapies” and “Cancer: The Journey from Diagnosis to Empowerment”)
What does the first visit look like? The initial appointment is typically 60-90 minutes long. The patient has a health history form completed prior to their appointment. We discuss their health timeline from birth to present, trying to find what could be at the root cause of their health concerns. This type of healing moves beyond conventional medicine, using an integrative approach to connect mind, body, and spirit for the ultimate health and well-being for each patient.
Common patient symptoms: There are a lot of symptoms that usually come on prior to being diagnosed with cancer. This can include, but is not limited to: fatigue, malaise, insomnia, feelings of “wired but tired”, migraines, hair loss, brittle nails, joint pain, low libido, weight loss, weight gain, abdominal concerns such as pain/bloating/gas/constipation/diarrhea/acid reflux/indigestion and many other symptoms that are of newer onset or have been around since birth. Learn More about Conditions We Treat.
How else can I help? In addition to the clinic exam rooms, I have built an IV nutritional therapy room to administer IVs (intravenous solutions) to patients that have a compromised gut, active microbes (viruses, bacteria, parasites, etc.) and even high dose vitamin C and other nutrients to help support patients being treated for cancer. IVs can be beneficial to everyone, even for a patient that just wants a burst of vitamins to help protect their immune system against colds/flus. Even for people looking for the nutritional support to lose or to gain (when it comes to malabsorption) weight.
What is the Financial Policy? Stephanie is an Out-of-Network Provider. This means you pay for the visit upfront an then you will receive a bill with the codes that you can turn into your insurance for possible reimbursement. Blood work that is completed at the clinic is typically covered under patients insurance, as it is build through the lab and not Stephanie. As long as the lab is “in-network” then your labs should be covered pending your insurance plan coverage. *Specialty labs like heavy metal testing, glyphosate, mold, etc. are not covered by insurance *IVs are not covered by insurance.
