Born and raised in southeast Missouri, Dr. Bridget Gruender has been a Columbia resident most of her adult life. Her husband is a Columbia native, and they agree that there is no better place to call home and raise their family. After graduating from medical school in Columbia at the University of Missouri, Dr. Gruender entered the Cox Family Medicine Residency Program in Springfield, Missouri.

She chose family medicine as her specialty because she appreciates the unique relationships she is able to form, not only with one individual, but with an entire patient’s family. She enjoys caring for all ages, treating many types of common illnesses, and performing minor procedures.