EHR Vendor Cerner Announces New Government Service Executive

EHR vendor Cerner has hired Patrick Sargent as a new lead executive for its government service segment, according to reporting from Washington Technology.

Travis Dalton, former president of the government services segment, announced Sargent would be joining Cerner as senior vice president and general manager of Cerner Government Service in a post on LinkedIn. Dalton will now solely focus on his other role as chief client and services officer.

Sargent is a retired Army major general who recently served as a senior vice president at UnitedHealth Group's OptumServe subsidiary. In this role, Sargent was responsible for developing new business opportunities focused on health programs at the Department of Defense (DoD). Additionally, he is a former president of OptumServe's emergency preparedness and response business.

Sargent's 35-year Army career concluded with service as commanding general of the Army Medical Center of Excellence before retirement in January 2020.

He joins the EHR vendor as it goes through an acquisition by cloud giant Oracle in a $28 billion transaction announced in December. Oracle's cash tender offer for all shares in Cerner expires on May 11.