Christopher Hunter has guided Acadia Healthcare through substantial capacity expansion since taking the CEO role in 2022. The company added 1,300 beds during 2024, marking the largest single-year expansion in Acadia’s history.
Hunter’s growth strategy encompasses multiple approaches to bed additions. Existing facility expansions represent what Hunter described as “one of our best uses of capital.” Of the 1,200 beds the company planned to open by the end of 2024, 400 were designated for existing facilities. During the first half of 2024, Acadia opened 64 new beds at existing facilities, with 37 added in the second quarter alone.
New facility development constitutes another growth pathway. Acadia opened Agave Ridge Behavioral Hospital in Mesa, Arizona, a 100-bed facility serving patients of all ages, in April 2024. The company planned to open four additional inpatient facilities before year-end 2024, with two developed through joint venture partnerships.
Capital expenditures totaled $690 million in 2024, representing a 78.7% increase compared to 2023. CFO Heather Dixon indicated that 2024 marked the high point for capital expenditures, with projected spending between $630 million and $690 million for 2025. “The high water mark for capex came at the end of ’24 and will continue at that rate in the beginning of ’25 as we continue to have that high pace of beds opening,” Dixon said. Capital expenditure levels should moderate and decline in the latter half of 2025, then continue declining in 2026.
Hunter has also implemented portfolio optimization measures. Acadia closed five facilities during summer 2024 and two in the previous quarter. “If we’re seeing facilities that are underperforming and don’t see a path to improvement, we’re going to take action,” Hunter stated. “This is normal portfolio optimization, and we’ll continue to monitor it going forward.” The closed facilities represented a $12 million to $15 million revenue impact.
Revenue performance has shown consistent growth under Hunter’s leadership. Second-quarter 2024 revenue increased approximately 9% year-over-year to $796 million, driven by a 5.6% increase in revenue per patient day and a 2.6% increase in overall patient days. Annual quarterly revenue increases averaged approximately 12.5% from early 2022 through the end of 2023. Both first-quarter and second-quarter 2024 revenue grew by roughly 9%.
During the first quarter of 2025, Acadia Healthcare added 378 newly licensed beds: 90 beds at existing facilities and 288 beds at newly constructed facilities. The company also added seven new comprehensive treatment centers, extending its market reach to 170 facilities across 33 states treating approximately 74,000 patients daily in this service line.
Two new facilities commenced operations during the first quarter of 2025: a facility in North Port, Florida, and a joint venture hospital developed in partnership with Henry Ford Health in West Bloomfield, Michigan. As of March 31, 2025, Acadia operated 270 behavioral healthcare facilities with approximately 12,000 beds across 39 states and Puerto Rico, employing approximately 25,500 people who serve more than 82,000 patients daily.