Brentwood-based outpatient substance use disorder treatment provider Spero Health has appointed former Meridian Behavioral Health exec Edward Littlejohn as chief operating officer.
With more than 20 years of experience, Littlejohn has held the COO position for several prominent health care providers. Most recently, he served as the system chief operating officer for Meridian in Brentwood, where he was responsible for operations over nine facilities in six states. Before that, Littlejohn was stationed in California working as the COO of Tenet Healthcare and Kaiser Permanente facilties. He also worked as an associate administrator and COO for an HCA-affiliated hospital in Richmond, Virginia, for seven years.
As COO, Littlejohn will work closely with CEO Steve Priest related to operational improvement, integration and strategic Spero Health initiatives, according to a press release. His primary role will be to oversee day-to-day operations and patient satisfaction initiatives.
“We are continuing to add top talent to drive improvements in performance and to further enhance our commitment to providing the highest quality of care for our patients,” Priest said in the release. “We could not be more pleased to welcome Ed into his new role as Chief Operating Officer, as he embodies the spirit of the Spero Health community which is made up of hard-working, dedicated, compassionate and innovative team members who create limitless possibilities for the patients we serve. I am confident that Ed’s leadership will serve us well today and into the future.”
Spero runs more than 20 clinics in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio that work with more than 5,000 patients each month. Twenty of those were formerly run by SelfRefind, which was founded a decade ago.