Henry Ford Health and Acadia Healthcare Appoint Emily Sexton as CEO of New Henry Ford Behavioral Health Hospital

Henry Ford Health, one of the nation’s premier academic and integrated health systems, and Acadia Healthcare, the nation’s largest stand-alone behavioral healthcare company, today announced the appointment of Emily Sexton as Chief Executive Officer of Henry Ford Behavioral Health Hospital, the new 192-bed inpatient behavioral health hospital being built through a joint venture partnership between Henry Ford and Acadia in West Bloomfield, Michigan.

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Henry Ford Health and Acadia Healthcare announced the appointment of Emily Sexton as Chief Executive Officer of Henry Ford Behavioral Health Hospital (Photo: Business Wire)

“I am honored to be selected for this role and thrilled to get started as we reimagine the delivery of behavioral healthcare,” said Sexton, a longtime Henry Ford behavioral health leader. “This is a tremendous opportunity to build and lead a team that brings the best of both organizations together to meet the growing need for quality healthcare in this space. I look forward to building on our culture of compassion and clinical excellence, following in Henry Ford Health’s legacy of unwavering care and advocacy for our patients.”

The new hospital will be a two-story facility, spanning approximately 120,000 square feet on Henry Ford Health’s West Bloomfield campus and providing a natural extension of the services the health system already offers. This new hospital, expected to open at the end of the year, will allow Henry Ford Health to deliver innovative care, increase resources and address the growing need for accessible, high-quality behavioral health services in Metro Detroit and beyond. It will also serve as a destination academic site, educating the next generation of behavioral healthcare providers including psychiatry residents, medical students and nurses.

“Naming Emily as CEO is a crucial step in the successful opening and operation of this hospital,” said Adnan Munkarah, M.D., President, Care Delivery System & Chief Clinical Officer for Henry Ford Health. “The need for comprehensive, compassionate behavioral health care is more important than ever. As the demand for behavioral health services within our communities continues to grow, Emily and her team will help to ensure our patients are receiving the best care possible. We are pleased that through our partnership with Acadia, we were able to find an executive of Emily’s caliber with roots in Michigan to lead this hospital.”

Prior to this appointment, Sexton was the Director of Hospital Operations and Nurse Executive for Henry Ford Kingswood Hospital. Sexton has 20 years of nursing experience with Henry Ford Health with the last 10 years focused on nursing leadership and hospital operations. She received an MSN in Advanced Public Health Nursing from Wayne State University, a BSN from University of Detroit Mercy and an ADN from Lansing Community College.

Sexton’s leadership career started in infectious disease with a specialized focus on pandemic response and special pathogens. She is a graduate of Henry Ford Health’s Health Equity Scholars Program, as well as a recipient of the Henry Ford ‘Focus On People’ award and the Clara Ford Nursing Excellence Award for excellence in quality and safety. She also led her team as they received the Michigan Health and Hospital Association’s Advancing Safe Care Award for their work in providing psychiatric COVID care.

About Henry Ford Health

Serving communities across Michigan and beyond, Henry Ford Health is committed to partnering with patients and members along their entire health journey. Henry Ford Health provides a full continuum of services – from primary and preventative care, to complex and specialty care, health insurance, a full suite of home health offerings, virtual care, pharmacy, eye care and other healthcare retail.

It is one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers, recognized for clinical excellence in cancer care, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics and sports medicine, and multi-organ transplants. Consistently ranked among the top five NIH-funded institutions in Michigan, Henry Ford Health engages in more than 2,000 research projects annually. Equally committed to educating the next generation of health professionals, Henry Ford Health trains more than 4,000 medical students, residents and fellows every year across 50+ accredited programs.

With more than 33,000 valued team members, Henry Ford Health is also among Michigan’s largest and most diverse employers, including nearly 6,000 physicians and researchers from the Henry Ford Medical Group, Henry Ford Physician Network and Jackson Health Network.

The health system is led by President and CEO Robert G. Riney and serves a growing number of customers across 250+ locations throughout Michigan including five acute care hospitals, two destination facilities for complex cancer and orthopedics and sports medicine care, a behavioral health facility, primary care and urgent care centers.

About Acadia Healthcare

Acadia is a leading provider of behavioral healthcare services across the United States. As of September 30, 2023, Acadia operated a network of 253 behavioral healthcare facilities with approximately 11,100 beds in 39 states and Puerto Rico. With approximately 23,000 employees serving more than 75,000 patients daily, Acadia is the largest stand-alone behavioral healthcare company in the U.S. Acadia provides behavioral healthcare services to its patients in a variety of settings, including inpatient psychiatric hospitals, specialty treatment facilities, residential treatment centers and outpatient clinics.

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