Acadia Healthcare has elevated its operational leadership with the creation of a chief operating officer position and the appointment of Dr. Nasser Khan to the role effective June 30 (https://bhbusiness.com/2024/05/24/acadia-healthcare-promotes-dr-nasser-khan-to-newly-created-coo-position/). The move marks a structural change for the company, aligning its C-suite with peers of similar scale while consolidating oversight of a broad and expanding treatment network.
Dr. Nasser Khan, Acadia Healthcare’s operations group president for its comprehensive treatment center (CTC) business line, will assume responsibility for day‑to‑day operations across the company’s platforms (https://acadiahealthcare.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/acadia-healthcare-appoints-dr-nasser-khan-lead-its-ctc-business). The COO title replaces responsibilities previously held by John Hollinsworth, who retired from his executive vice president of operations post on June 30 and will remain in an advisory capacity through the end of 2024 to facilitate the transition.
Khan brings a mix of clinical and operational experience to the new position. Prior to joining Acadia in 2022, he served as senior vice president of operations at Shields Health Solutions, a Walgreens Boots Alliance subsidiary, and held leadership roles at Biograph, DaVita and McKinsey & Company (https://www.crunchbase.com/person/nasser-khan-e154; https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/potmsearch/detail/submission/6553810/Nasser_Khan). A physician by training, Khan holds an M.D., a Master of Medical Science and a magna cum laude bachelor’s degree in human biology from Brown University, completed residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital and maintains board certification in internal medicine (https://www.marketscreener.com/insider/NASSER-KHAN-A3X6C8/).
In his remarks on assuming the expanded role, Khan emphasized a threefold set of priorities centered on service to patients, support for staff and the pursuit of superior clinical outcomes. He signaled a continuing commitment to scaling high‑quality care while accelerating innovation through technology and process improvements aimed at improving both employee experience and patient care delivery.
The promotion comes amid a strategic push to enlarge Acadia’s CTC footprint. The company has outlined plans to open 14 new CTCs in 2024 and moved to acquire three North Carolina‑based CTCs in March. Under Khan’s prior management, the CTC network comprised roughly 145 centers, a core element of Acadia’s national footprint. Companywide, Acadia operated 239 behavioral health facilities with about 10,600 beds as of mid‑2022 and employs more than 22,000 staff serving an estimated 70,000 patients daily.
Acadia’s broader five‑point growth strategy—facility expansion, de novo development, joint ventures, acquisitions and expansion of the care continuum—remains central to the company’s plans. Executives have also flagged growth in outpatient services, particularly partial hospitalization programs and intensive outpatient programs, as a longer‑term revenue opportunity even as those segments currently contribute modestly to results.
Operationally, Acadia reported softer patient volumes in the first quarter of 2024 but maintained guidance for the full year. New leadership in the COO role is intended to stabilize operations during a period of expansion and to support the company’s ambition to be an active acquirer in behavioral health markets while continuing to advance clinical quality and workforce development.
The appointment of Dr. Nasser Khan to chief operating officer represents both a continuity of clinical leadership for Acadia Healthcare and an institutional recognition that the company’s scale warrants a dedicated executive focused on harmonizing growth, clinical outcomes and staff support across its diverse portfolio.