Staff, coworkers, family, friends and community members gathered Monday evening to wish Dr. David Sargent well as he embarks on the next chapter of life – retirement. Sargent has most recently served as an ear, nose and throat specialist with CHRISTUS in Sulphur Springs.
Brad Burgin, Practice Manager for CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic Specialty Clinics, said Sargent glorifies CHRISTUS’ five core values — dignity, excellence, compassion, integrity and stewardship.
“I cannot think of any person who glorifies those five values than Dr. David Sargent. I have been fortunate to spend many hours talking with him in his office with nothing to do with the clinic, nothing to do with the practice. Everything from life in general, to wives and family, politics. It is moments like that that I will treasure in years to come,” Burgin said. “You are a unique individual. I am honored to have not only worked with you but to know you.”
Burgin presented Sargent with a plaque on behalf of CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic “in grateful appreciation of 14 years of service to CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic.”
“I’ve gotten to know him in almost 7 years of the 14 years he’s been in Sulphur Springs, along with his lovely wife. It has truly been an honor for me and my wife, Jill, to know him professionally. I couldn’t agree more with Brad with living the core values. CHRISTUS may have core values, but Dr. David Sargent has his core values. A lot of that matches what we at CHRISTUS try to adhere to,” CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital-Sulphur Springs President and CEO Paul Harvey said. “I’m just thankful that I’ve had the privilege to know him these few short years. He’s been blessed. He’s done a lot for us in this community. I can’t think of a better way of honoring him here in front of some of his peers here in our community, and being able to say thank Dr. Sargent for 14 years service at our hospital.”
Harvey noted that while Sargent is retiring after 14 years of service to Hopkins County and the surrounding communities, to fully understand the type of person he is, one has only to look at his background — “how young he got started.”
After graduating from Kansas State University in 1975, Sargent then studied at the College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1979. The next 10 years were spent in the Army, serving part of his residential fellowship in Belgium and several different Army hospitals, then continued his work in Army hospitals throughout the country. When was honorably discharged from the Arm, Sargent had attained the rank of lieutenant colonel, Harvey noted, extending thanks to Sargent for his service in the Army.
Sargent was state licensed in North Carolina, Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma. After the Army, he worked at the Ear, Nose and Throat Center of North Texas, then worked at Texoma Medical Center, Wilson Jones Medical Center in Sherman and a facility in Oklahoma.
Longtime Sulphur Springs ENT Dr. Bill Dietze, planning for retirement, set about recruiting the best candidate to take over his job. As part of that process, he contacted Sargent, and convinced Sargent and his wife, Jane to come talk to him about David potentially taking over as the ENT physician at the specialty clinic in Sulphur Springs. While Jane conceded to a visit to Sulphur Springs, she did not plan to like the community or to bond so quickly with Dr. Dietze’s wife.
“When I left that day, I knew that’s where we would be,” Jane Sargent said, not how she quickly grew to love Bill’s wife too.
“When Dave joined me, I kind of made a decision and agreement with Dave that we’d work a year together,” Dr. Bill Dietze said. “If we felt comfortable and he felt comfortable with the practice and whatever that would be our decision to make after 1 year. He did.”
Dietze said he observed Sargent over that year of working together, a year in which Sargent, who is taller, squatted down real low at his desk and chairs to accommodate the furniture Dietze had had built for his my size. He laughed and said Sargent never complained about the size of the built-ins while working with him. However, within 6 months of Sargent taking over, all of the built-ins had been replaced.
“If you’ve had a solo practice for years and it means much to you, you’re going to turn it over to someone, someone special that make the practice go,” Dietze said, noting that a few others had been considered but until Sargent, none were a good fit. “With Dave it was different.”
Dietze too referenced Sargent’s standards, which he indicated were very high as a physician and a human being.
“He always strives to make himself better, even though he’s a really a good guy. He never can be satisfied with just where he is if there’s something that can do better. That’s a great quality you can have. It’s a real great quality when you’re taking care of kids. You want to be better for them,” Dietze said, adding that he thinks Sargent is retiring too early
Harvey presented on behalf of CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital Sulphur Springs a token of “grateful appreciation” to Dr. David Sargent, honoring his “14 years of devoted service to Hopkins County.” His CHRISTUS Sulphur Springs family will greatly miss him.”
“I have enjoyed my time here. It is the most wonderful place I have every lived,” Dr. Sargent said.
Harvey also extended love and appreciation to Jane Sargent as well.
One staff member noted she’d enjoyed working with Sargent. Another voiced one request as he begins wrapping up his schedule as the year draws to a close: “the bear has got to go.”
“He is the most creepiest thing you will ever see. And he had to sit him on the counter beside you, and he’s creepy,” she said, asking him to load it into the back of his truck and take it when he leaves the office or give it back to Dr. Dietze.
Dietze firmly declined to reclaim the figure with a laugh.
Joe Bob Burgin, who served on the hospital district board when Dietze announced his retirement and Sargent was hired,
“It was great,” said Joe Bob Burgin, who also currently serves on Hopkins County Hospital District Board of Directors. “We hated to see Bill retire. He got a good replacement and continued
“What Dr. Sargent did and what Dr. Dietze did is important to our community and service area,” Harvey said. “We will actually replace Dr. Sargent and will be recruiting for that. We’ll look to him and Bill for guidance in that as well. It’s very important to have ENT services for Hopkins County and our service area. Just know from a hospital perspective, we’re going to do that. But tonight is about Dr. Sargent and his years of service here and what he’s meant to our community. I really want to thank you again doc.”
Harvey then invited those present to enjoy the punch and festive Christmas cookies provided while visiting with and honoring Dr. Sargent, and called for a big hand of appreciative applause for Sargent.
