Joel Allison, president and CEO of the Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health healthcare system, has announced his plan to resign next year and transition to a new, less time-consuming role. The official date of his resignation is scheduled to be Feb. 1, 2017.

Allison, 68, is the only CEO Baylor Scott & White Health has ever known; he has held the position since Baylor Health Care System merged with Scott & White Healthcare in 2013. His new role will be as the company’s senior advisor to the chairman of the board.

"I've been blessed — I was called into this career that I love,” Allison said in a prepared statement. “So while I've spent the past 40-plus years working in health care, I feel I haven't worked a day in my life. Now, I'm looking forward to the next phase — one in which I'll still remain engaged in an advisory role to the chairman, while enjoying more time with my wife and six grandchildren."

Jim L. Turner, chairman, Baylor Scott & White Holdings Board of Trustees, praised Allison’s legacy in the same statement.

"A remarkable testament to Joel's servant leadership is that he was able to build what today is the largest not-for-profit health care system in Texas, while remaining steadfastly dedicated to the organization's mission to serve as a Christian ministry of healing," Turner said. "It is in large part because of his personal integrity, character and work ethic that this organization has grown through many strong partnerships, including one of the largest health care mergers in U.S. history, yet it never sacrificed its culture or values."