This announcement was sent on behalf of Drs. Chak Lattanand and Michael Avidan.
The department is pleased to announce the appointment of R. Austin Sargent, MD, as the Division Chief of Anesthesiology for the Barnes West County Division. Dr. Sargent succeeds Branden Yee, MD, MPH, who has served in this role on an interim basis since December 2024. We extend our sincere gratitude to Dr. Yee for his steady leadership and dedicated service during this transition and warmly welcome Dr. Sargent as he assumes this role.
In this role, Dr. Sargent will oversee anesthesiology services across the Barnes West County Division, encompassing Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital (BJWCH), the Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Orthopedic Center, and the Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC). He will provide strategic and operational leadership for all clinical anesthesiology services, including operative, regional, and endoscopic care, while ensuring seamless support across all procedural areas of the hospital.
Dr. Sargent will partner closely with hospital leadership and colleagues across medical specialties to coordinate high-quality care, lead quality improvement initiatives, develop and manage staffing plans, and contribute to annual budgeting and financial planning. In addition, he will champion professional development for faculty, CRNAs, staff, and trainees, fostering a culture of mentorship, inclusion, collaboration, and continuous learning.
Dr. Sargent earned his Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine in 2016. He completed both his residency in anesthesiology and fellowship in regional and ambulatory anesthesiology at the University of Michigan. Following his training, he joined the anesthesiology faculty and later served as Assistant Residency Program Director. In 2023, Dr. Sargent relocated to St. Louis to join St. Luke’s Hospital, where he most recently served as Chief of Anesthesia. In that role, he oversaw daily scheduling and staffing, financial operations, and quality assurance and improvement initiatives.
Dr. Sargent is an exceptional clinical leader whose judgment, integrity, and operational acumen make him ideally suited to lead anesthesiology across the Barnes West County Division. We are delighted to welcome him to WashU Medicine and have full confidence that his leadership will elevate care for our patients, teams, and institution.