Healthcare Finance Executive Heather Dixon Leaves Acadia Healthcare for President Position at Addus HomeCare
Addus HomeCare has named Heather Dixon its president and chief operating officer, a strategic hire that brings extensive financial and operational experience from the behavioral health and broader healthcare sectors. The Frisco, Texas-based home care provider announced that Dixon, who most recently served as chief financial officer of Acadia Healthcare, is expected to assume her new role in mid-September after serving as an independent board member and audit committee participant for Addus since 2023.
Dixon joins Addus from Acadia Healthcare, where she was appointed chief financial officer in July 2023. At Acadia Healthcare she was instrumental in supporting the company’s growth agenda, bringing prior experience leading finances and operations at large healthcare organizations. Her resume includes senior roles at Everside Health, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Aetna, positioning her with a blend of payer, provider and pharmacy sector insight that Addus leaders say will help guide the company’s next phase of expansion.
Company executives framed the move as part of a broader leadership transition at Addus. Bradley Bickham, who has served as president and COO, will transition to an advisory role to the chief executive officer and remain in that capacity until his planned retirement in March 2026. The handover aims to preserve institutional knowledge while enabling Dixon to execute strategic initiatives focused on operational excellence and service quality.
Addus operates an array of in-home services, including personal care, hospice and home health, with a footprint spanning 260 locations across 23 states and serving roughly 62,000 patients. The appointment of Dixon follows an active period for the company, which two days earlier announced the acquisition of Helping Hands Home Care Service in Pennsylvania for $21.2 million. The acquisition underscores Addus’ intent to grow through targeted regional deals as well as organic expansion.
Dixon’s tenure at Acadia Healthcare coincided with a period of ambitious growth for the behavioral health provider. Acadia operates a large network of behavioral healthcare facilities and has pursued expansion through de novo openings, joint ventures and facility enlargements. Her role as CFO at Acadia included overseeing financial strategy and contributing to operational planning across a network of inpatient and outpatient facilities.
Before joining Acadia Healthcare, Dixon served as chief financial officer and interim chief operating officer at Everside Health, where she oversaw 385 health centers across 34 states. Her background also includes leadership positions as senior vice president and global controller at Walgreens Boots Alliance and controller and chief accounting officer roles at Aetna. She has served on multiple corporate boards, including a recent term on the board of Signify Health prior to that company’s acquisition.
Industry observers note that Addus’ selection of a leader with both operational and financial expertise reflects larger trends in home-based care, where reimbursement dynamics, workforce management and service integration require seasoned executives with cross-sector experience. As Addus pursues growth through acquisitions and service line diversification, Heather Dixon, Acadia Healthcare veteran turned Addus executive, will be tasked with aligning financial discipline and operational scale to support the company’s mission of delivering high-quality care to patients outside traditional facility settings.
