Chief Executive Officer - Acute Psychiatric Hospital

Acadia•Alexandria, LA

3d•Onsite

About The Position

A highly visible executive leadership opportunity to lead Longleaf Hospital, a 139-bed acute behavioral health hospital serving adolescents, adults, and seniors across Central Louisiana. This role provides overall strategic, operational, financial, and clinical leadership for a comprehensive behavioral healthcare organization dedicated to delivering high-quality, patient-centered care. Located in Alexandria, Louisiana, Longleaf Hospital plays a critical role in expanding access to behavioral health and addiction treatment services throughout the region. Executive oversight of a 139-bed behavioral health hospital serving adolescents, adults, and seniors. Full accountability for hospital operations, financial performance, quality outcomes, regulatory compliance, and physician relationships. Leadership of inpatient psychiatric, substance use disorder, and outpatient behavioral health services. Strategic responsibility for growth initiatives, program development, referral expansion, and market positioning. Direct leadership of a multidisciplinary executive, clinical, and operational leadership team. Responsibility for fostering a culture of accountability, employee engagement, service excellence, and patient-centered care. Lead an organization dedicated to delivering compassionate, evidence-based behavioral healthcare. Advance a culture focused on safety, quality, clinical excellence, and exceptional patient outcomes. Serve as a visible leader and advocate for behavioral health services throughout Central Louisiana. Build and strengthen relationships with community stakeholders, referral partners, health systems, physicians, and payors. Support continued growth while ensuring access to life-changing mental health and addiction treatment services. Longleaf Hospital is a 139-bed acute behavioral health facility located in Alexandria, Louisiana, providing comprehensive treatment services for adolescents, adults, and seniors experiencing mental health and substance use challenges. Services include: Acute inpatient psychiatric treatment, Medical detoxification and substance use disorder services, Adolescent behavioral health programming, Adult and senior psychiatric services, Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) services, Military-focused behavioral health programming, Treatment for co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, Multidisciplinary care delivered by experienced behavioral health professionals. As part of Acadia Healthcare, Longleaf Hospital is committed to Leading Care with Light, bringing hope, healing, and clinical excellence to the patients, families, and communities it serves. Lead the overall operation and performance of the hospital, aligning strategy with Acadia’s mission and values. Develop and execute strategic business plans, capital plans, and operating budgets in partnership with the governing body and medical staff. Leverage local market expertise to drive sustainable growth, access, and service line expansion. Identify opportunities to enhance performance through innovation, analytics, and operational efficiency. Deliver consistent achievement of census growth and EBITDA targets. Oversee fiscal management, payer contracting, and revenue optimization strategies. Ensure disciplined execution across all operational priorities, balancing short-term results with long-term sustainability. Maintain continuous survey readiness and ensure full compliance with all licensure, accreditation, and regulatory standards. Champion a culture of safety and accountability, ensuring prompt resolution of patient safety concerns. Lead performance improvement and QAPI initiatives to drive best-in-class patient outcomes and satisfaction. Recruit, develop, and retain a high-performing leadership team and clinical workforce. Build a culture rooted in accountability, engagement, and continuous development. Foster an environment aligned to an employee value proposition that supports caregivers and strengthens retention. Partner closely with the Medical Director and medical staff to ensure excellence in clinical care delivery. Expand service offerings through physician and allied health recruitment. Serve as the face of the hospital within the community. Build strong relationships with referral sources, government agencies, and healthcare partners. Position the hospital as the provider of choice through meaningful engagement and market insight. Provide clear direction and accountability across the facility. Lead governing board engagement and reporting. Drive a high-performance culture grounded in integrity, collaboration, and results. This is more than a leadership position. It is an opportunity to shape the future of behavioral health care in your community, expand access to life-changing treatment, develop exceptional teams and leaders, and deliver meaningful outcomes for patients and families.

Requirements

Demonstrated experience operating an acute psychiatric or behavioral health hospital is required.
Prior CEO experience strongly preferred.
Minimum 3 to 5 years in a senior leadership role within behavioral health, acute care, or a related healthcare environment.
Proven success in driving financial, quality, regulatory, and operational performance.
Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Public Health, Marketing, or a related field.
Deep understanding of hospital operations, behavioral health delivery models, and regulatory requirements.
Strong financial acumen with experience managing budgets, growth strategies, and payer relationships.
Skilled at building and leading high-performing teams and fostering accountability.
Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and influencing skills.
Ability to navigate complexity, adapt to change, and lead with a solution-oriented mindset.
High integrity with the ability to manage sensitive information professionally.

Nice To Haves

MBA or MHA strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide overall strategic, operational, financial, and clinical leadership for a comprehensive behavioral healthcare organization.
Executive oversight of a 139-bed behavioral health hospital serving adolescents, adults, and seniors.
Full accountability for hospital operations, financial performance, quality outcomes, regulatory compliance, and physician relationships.
Leadership of inpatient psychiatric, substance use disorder, and outpatient behavioral health services.
Strategic responsibility for growth initiatives, program development, referral expansion, and market positioning.
Direct leadership of a multidisciplinary executive, clinical, and operational leadership team.
Responsibility for fostering a culture of accountability, employee engagement, service excellence, and patient-centered care.
Lead the overall operation and performance of the hospital, aligning strategy with Acadia’s mission and values.
Develop and execute strategic business plans, capital plans, and operating budgets in partnership with the governing body and medical staff.
Leverage local market expertise to drive sustainable growth, access, and service line expansion.
Identify opportunities to enhance performance through innovation, analytics, and operational efficiency.
Deliver consistent achievement of census growth and EBITDA targets.
Oversee fiscal management, payer contracting, and revenue optimization strategies.
Ensure disciplined execution across all operational priorities, balancing short-term results with long-term sustainability.
Maintain continuous survey readiness and ensure full compliance with all licensure, accreditation, and regulatory standards.
Champion a culture of safety and accountability, ensuring prompt resolution of patient safety concerns.
Lead performance improvement and QAPI initiatives to drive best-in-class patient outcomes and satisfaction.
Recruit, develop, and retain a high-performing leadership team and clinical workforce.
Build a culture rooted in accountability, engagement, and continuous development.
Foster an environment aligned to an employee value proposition that supports caregivers and strengthens retention.
Partner closely with the Medical Director and medical staff to ensure excellence in clinical care delivery.
Expand service offerings through physician and allied health recruitment.
Serve as the face of the hospital within the community.
Build strong relationships with referral sources, government agencies, and healthcare partners.
Position the hospital as the provider of choice through meaningful engagement and market insight.
Provide clear direction and accountability across the facility.
Lead governing board engagement and reporting.
Drive a high-performance culture grounded in integrity, collaboration, and results.