Chris Jones, Broad Reach’s first Chief Operating Officer, has had a clear goal from the outset:

“I want to be the glue that brings everything together.”

That’s in keeping with his personality, and his decades of experience at Broad Reach has built a deep understanding of how the facility’s facets can and should complement each other.

He first joined Broad Reach as a physical therapist in 1998, earning his doctorate in physical therapy in 2009 (with Broad Reach financial support and time flexibility), assuming a more senior role in 2013 with growing administrative responsibilities, and eventually becoming Director of Rehabilitation in 2018. That experience and training did not point directly toward a COO role, but Chris’s approach did:

“I’m a systems kind of thinker,” he says, “that’s just the way I look at things. That, and communications is huge.”

These strengths came into focus early in his career, when Chris helped build Broad Reach’s strong outpatient program. Typically these are younger patients than most skilled nursing residents, perhaps someone who had elective surgery and needs some further support toward complete recovery. Chris also would work with residents getting ready to go home, but who still need follow-up that can be provided under a familiar roof. That seamless continuity helps patients progress more quickly.

“Now, as COO, I don’t see the role as just overseeing administrative duties,” says Chris. “It’s much more about facilitating, helping our team accomplish their goals, letting each other know what those are and how best to do that.”

Chris continues a long tradition of bicycling to work whenever he can, leaving his Sagamore Beach home at 5 am, riding two hours (much of it along scenic Route 6A), jumping in the shower before a good day’s work, then hitching a ride home with his wife, a dental hygienist who also works in the Chatham area.

Neither COO responsibilities nor turning 50 have slowed him down too much, he laughs.