Acadia Healthcare Restructures Leadership Team with Appointment of New Chief Operating Officer
Acadia Healthcare has elevated an internal operations leader to its newly created chief operating officer post as the behavioral health company reorganizes its senior management ahead of an ambitious growth push.
Dr. Nasser Khan will assume the chief operating officer role on June 30, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, marking the first time the company has included a COO in its C-suite. Khan joins the expanded executive team after serving as operations group president for Acadia Healthcare’s comprehensive treatment center business line, a unit that accounts for a substantial portion of the company’s nationwide footprint.
Khan outlined three principal priorities for his tenure, emphasizing service to patients, support for staff, and a continued focus on quality and clinical outcomes. He signaled an intent to build on existing strengths in clinical delivery while accelerating innovation, including greater use of technology and process improvements to support caregivers and expand access to treatment.
The COO responsibilities were previously carried out by John Hollinsworth, Acadia’s executive vice president of operations, who will retire on June 30 and remain with the company in an advisory capacity through the end of 2024 to ensure a smooth leadership transition. Jacob Cooper, senior vice president and chief operating officer of the CTC service line, will assume the role of CTC group president as part of the internal restructuring.
Khan brings a blend of clinical and operational experience to the role. Before joining Acadia in 2022, he served as senior vice president of operations at Shields Health Solutions, a Walgreens Boots Alliance subsidiary. His prior positions include head of program and chief medical officer at healthcare technology firm Biograph, multiple operational leadership roles at DaVita, and management consulting at McKinsey & Company. Khan holds an M.D., a Master of Medical Science, and a Bachelor of Arts in Human Biology from Brown University, and completed residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Under Khan’s leadership of the CTC division, Acadia Healthcare has pursued expansion aggressively. The company plans to open 14 new comprehensive treatment centers in 2024 and completed an acquisition of three North Carolina CTCs in March. The push aligns with Acadia’s five-point growth strategy of facility expansion, de novo development, joint venture partnerships, acquisitions, and broadening the care continuum.
Alongside CTC growth, Acadia is prioritizing outpatient services, including partial hospitalization programs and intensive outpatient programs, which company executives describe as currently modest revenue contributors with significant long-term upside. The strategy aims to diversify care settings and enhance continuity for patients across inpatient and outpatient modalities.
Acadia reported weaker-than-expected patient volumes in the first quarter of 2024 but maintained guidance that the company expects to meet full-year targets. The organizational changes and the addition of a COO are positioned as measures to strengthen operational oversight and support the company’s plan for controlled expansion while preserving clinical quality.
As Acadia Healthcare scales its network, leadership changes and an emphasis on innovation and workforce support will be closely watched by investors and sector observers. The company, which operates hundreds of behavioral health facilities across the United States, is signaling that operational leadership and clinical excellence will remain central to its growth narrative.