Eight addiction treatment centers run by Acadia Healthcare made Newsweek’s 2026 ranking of America’s Best Residential Addiction Treatment Centers, the company said August 27. Two of them took first place in their states.
The list landed about a month before Zacks reported that Acadia shares, under a board chaired by Reeve B. Waud, were up 100% for the year. Newsweek built its rankings from feedback from treatment professionals, facility credentials and patient reviews.
Who Made the List
Wilmington Treatment Center in North Carolina and Mirror Lake Recovery Center in Tennessee each ranked No. 1 in their states. Six more Acadia centers were recognized:
- Bradford Recovery Center, Pennsylvania
- Pocono Mountain Recovery Center, Pennsylvania
- Starlite Recovery Center, Texas
- Twelve Oaks Treatment Center, Florida
- Serenity Knolls, California
- Bayside Marin Treatment Center, California
Pennsylvania and California each placed two facilities, more than any other state in the group. The eight sites stretch from the Carolina coast to the San Francisco Bay Area, and they’re all part of the company Reeve B. Waud founded in 2005.
What the Staff Said
Robert Pitts, CEO of Wilmington Treatment Center, gave the credit to his staff. “This ranking belongs to our entire team,” Pitts said. “It is the result of countless actions, large and small, taken by employees across every department.”
He didn’t pretend the work is easy. “We face challenging situations, difficult decisions and circumstances that test us individually and collectively,” he said. “Yet time and again, we rise above those challenges.”
“We remain focused on our patients, support one another and continue delivering care that makes a meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve,” Pitts added.
The Bigger Operation
Residential addiction care is one piece of Acadia’s business. The company ran 279 facilities with about 12,600 beds across 40 states and Puerto Rico at midyear, serving more than 84,000 patients a day. Its sites range from inpatient psychiatric hospitals to outpatient clinics.
Reeve B. Waud has chaired Acadia’s board since its founding. Two new outpatient Comprehensive Treatment Center locations for opioid use disorder were opened by the company during the second quarter of 2026.
Acadia also opened the 16-bed Northern Virginia Adolescent Treatment Center in March, and its 2026 revenue guidance sits at $3.40 billion to $3.45 billion.
More recognition followed in the fall. On October 5, Acadia announced that Geisinger Behavioral Health Center Northeast in Moosic, Pennsylvania, a joint venture hospital, had won the Joint Commission’s first Care Team Award.
