CORDELE — Jim Martin, chief executive of Crisp Regional Health Services, will retire at the end of the year, he told the Dispatch Thursday.

Martin has served as the head administrator for the hospital and its related health services since 1986, ushering the organization through the construction of an entirely new hospital in 1990, a corporate reorganization in 1993 that led to significant new growth, and a sizable expansion project this year that will be unveiled in an open house Sunday.

Crisp Regional’s governing board has already hired a new chief executive. Skip Wright, who works in the healthcare field now in Atlanta, will report to work Monday. Wright has bachelor and master’s degrees in business from Auburn University, and he has previously worked as chief executive for hospitals in Douglas, Atlanta, and Decatur, Martin said.

“I’ve known him for something like 25 years,” Martin said of Wright, “and he’s really a great guy.”

Martin said he and Wright will work together beginning Monday to ensure a smooth transition.

“We’re a rather diversified organization and he and I will spend some time together going over each area we have,” Martin said.

Much of Crisp Regional’s diversity stems from the 1993 corporate reorganization. After the completion of the new 65-bed hospital, Crisp Regional converted the old facility into medical offices and added other sites to the Crisp Regional family, including a 143-bed nursing care center, an assisted living facility, several rural health clinics, hospice services and more.

“I give the governing board credit for that,” Martin said. “They chose to undertake the restructuring, which gave us a lot of freedom to do what we do wanted.”

The hospital alone has grown into a regional provider of state-of-the-art health services, serving residents of Crisp, Dooly, Macon, Sumter, Worth and Wilcox counties. The 28,000-square-foot expansion to the facility, which began in November of 2007, includes a new 16-bed intensive care unit, a new medical records department, work areas for physicians, consultation rooms, and additional space for the imaging department.

Martin said he is looking forward to retirement, but it will take some time to get adjusted. He and his wife Wilma plan to stay in Crisp County.

“I have mixed feelings about retiring. I really care about the great employees we have here and I’ll miss them on daily basis,” he said.