James R. Gonzalez

– Board Chair –

Throughout his long and distinguished career, James R. Gonzalez has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of the most vulnerable. Recently retired, Mr. Gonzalez entered the healthcare field four decades ago, holding executive positions in academic health centers, community hospitals and long-term care facilities in New York and New Jersey before his 2000 appointment as President and CEO of Broadway House for Continuing Care. Located in Newark, N.J., Broadway House is New Jersey’s only dedicated nursing home for people with HIV/AIDS. The facility provides world-class healthcare, as well as educational and rehabilitative services, primarily to residents of urban areas.

Broadway House serves a diverse population—28% of whom live in poverty facing unique challenges, often shaped by homelessness, addiction, abuse, and other deep social issues. Its comprehensive approach to healing encompasses medical, behavioral, social, and spiritual support to help residents overcome these obstacles. Mr. Gonzalez is deeply committed to the Broadway House mission: To empower every Broadway House resident to live with independence, strength, and dignity in their home communities.

During Mr. Gonzalez’s tenure, Broadway House also introduced the New Beginnings Sub-acute Rehabilitation Program, which provides exceptional care to people recovering from a wide variety of conditions, including diabetes, spinal cord and brain injuries, stroke, and fractures. Many of those referred to Broadway House for subacute care have complex medical conditions that other facilities cannot treat. Over months—and sometimes years—medical professionals patiently work with residents to treat their condition and connect them with resources to help them live independently once again.

Through Mr. Gonzalez’s leadership, Broadway House has achieved national recognition for excellence in HIV/AIDS care and the safety of its residents. It is the only long-term care facility in the nation to receive annual funding from the prestigious Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. The facility has also earned statewide and national recognition over the years, including designation as a Best Nursing Home from US News & World Report, 5-star facility by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and “safe space” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and SAGE Advocacy and Services for LGBTQ+ Elders. For the past two years, Broadway House has achieved the Gold Steward standard—the highest level for the New Jersey Department of Health’s Antibiotics Stewardship Award—for the facility’s commitment to antibiotic safety and patient outcomes. Mr. Gonzalez recently retired from Broadway House.

While serving as President and CEO of Broadway House, Mr. Gonzalez was also appointed President and CEO of University Hospital in Newark from 2011 to 2015 to lead the hospital’s transition from a university-owned facility to a stand-alone, safety net teaching hospital through the merger between the University of Medicine and

Dentistry of New Jersey and Rutgers University. It was the largest merger of two university systems in the nation’s history. In addition, Mr. Gonzalez was Chairman of the Health Care Association of New Jersey (HCANJ) from 2018 to 2020, and earlier in his career, was the Chief Operating Officer of East Orange General Hospital from 1995 to 1999.

Mr. Gonzalez earned a Bachelor of Science from Northeastern University and a Master of Public Health from the Yale School of Public Health. In addition, he has been a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives since 2007 and the New Jersey Chapter selected him to receive its Distinguished Service Award in 2017. Mr. Gonzalez is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator through the New Jersey Department of Health and holds licensure through FACHE, the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Serving on a host of industry-related boards, Mr. Gonzalez was recently elevated to Chairman of the Board of St. James Health Center and has joined the board of VNA Health Group. He has also served on the boards of Neighborhood Health Services Corp. in Plainfield, Health Care Association of NJ (Past Chairman), The Governor’s Council on HIV/AIDS and Related Blood Borne Pathogens, the Homeless Commission of the City of Newark, the Greater Newark Healthcare Coalition, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine—Admissions Committee, the FBI Newark Citizens Academy Alumni Association, and the John V. Kelly Memorial Foundation. In the education sector, Mr. Gonzalez has also been a Board Member at Caldwell University, and Cristo Rey Newark High School.

Most recently, Mr. Gonzalez is the recipient of the 2024 NJHA Emeritus Award and was named a 2024 NJBIZ ICON Honoree. He is the President and CEO of Chadwick Consulting, a broad-based healthcare consulting group designed to bring solutions and value to a variety of institutional, academic, and operating settings.