Sky Lakes Wins National Award for Work Beyond Hospital Walls
The Klamath Falls hospital is the first in Oregon to receive the Foster G. McGaw Prize and says the full $100,000 award will be reinvested locally.
FAST FACTS
The honor:
Sky Lakes won a national community health award from the American Hospital Association.
Oregon first:
It is the first hospital in Oregon to receive the Foster G. McGaw Prize.
Prize:
The award includes $100,000 for local community health work.
Recognized work:
Wellness, food access, tobacco prevention, outdoor spaces and healthcare career pathways.
Partners:
The work includes about 50 community partners through Healthy Klamath.
Next step:
The award will be presented July 13 in Denver.
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — For Sky Lakes Medical Center, a national hospital award is also a Klamath Basin story.
The Klamath Falls-based medical center has been named the first hospital in Oregon to receive the American Hospital Association’s Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service, a national honor recognizing hospitals that work to improve community health beyond traditional medical care.
Sky Lakes Medical Center President and CEO David Cauble said the national recognition reflects the work of the broader Klamath community. Graphic by Jefferson Daily; photo courtesy of Sky Lakes Medical Center.
The award is one of the hospital field’s major national honors for community service and health partnerships. It comes with a $100,000 prize, which Sky Lakes says will be invested back into the community.
The American Hospital Association is scheduled to present the prize to Sky Lakes on July 13 during its Leadership Summit in Denver.
“This award reflects what an entire community can accomplish when people come together around a shared purpose,” said David Cauble, president and CEO of Sky Lakes Medical Center.
Cauble said the recognition belongs not only to the hospital, but also to the partners, volunteers and local organizations that have helped build health-focused programs across the region.
He said Sky Lakes will invest the full award back into local community health work because, while progress has been made, the work is not finished.
The recognition highlights years of community health efforts in Klamath County, where health challenges are often tied to issues outside the exam room. According to Sky Lakes, more than 20% of county residents live below the federal poverty level, about 76% rely on Medicare or Medicaid for health coverage, and 16% experience food insecurity.
Sky Lakes has worked with roughly 50 community partners through the Healthy Klamath Network to address factors that shape health, including chronic disease, tobacco use, food access, outdoor recreation, transportation and career pathways into healthcare.
The award recognized work that reached well beyond the hospital, including:
Sky Lakes Wellness Center
The Sky Lakes Wellness Center was recognized as part of the hospital’s broader work to prevent and manage chronic disease. Sky Lakes said participants in its four-month Lifestyle Change Program lose an average of 4% of their starting weight and report meaningful drops in depression and anxiety.
Tobacco Prevention
Sky Lakes highlighted a tobacco prevention campaign that featured a retired doctor disguised as Batman. Since 2015, the adult smoking rate has fallen from 24% to 16.5%, while illegal tobacco sales to youth dropped from 35% in 2018 to 5% in 2024.
New Outdoor Spaces
The award also recognized work tied to outdoor spaces, including an interactive art walk and protected bike paths. Sky Lakes said those efforts are part of a larger push to make healthy activity more accessible in the Klamath Basin.
More Park Playground
More Park Playground was among the outdoor-access projects connected to the community health work recognized by the award. Sky Lakes said the share of Klamath residents living within a half mile of a park has grown from 14% in 2010 to 64.5%.
Food Access
Sky Lakes pointed to food access as part of its community health work, including a year-round online farmers market that connects residents with more than 30 local growers.
Healthcare Workforce
Sky Lakes said its healthcare workforce efforts include career pathways that begin in high school. According to the hospital, 31% of students in its paid Hospital Ambassador Program move directly into healthcare employment.
Together, those efforts are why the American Hospital Association pointed to Sky Lakes as a model for rural community health work.
Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, said Sky Lakes has become an example for rural community health work.
“Sky Lakes Medical Center goes above and beyond each day to partner with local organizations to advance health in the rural communities it serves in southern Oregon and northern California,” Pollack said.
He said the hospital’s work ranges from encouraging young people to enter healthcare careers to expanding access to healthy food and promoting physical activity and wellness.
Merritt Driscoll, executive director of the Sky Lakes Foundation, said the community health work recognized by the national award is helping shape the Klamath Basin as a place to live, work, learn and play. Graphic by Jefferson Daily; photo courtesy of Sky Lakes Medical Center.
For local leaders, the award is also a reflection of how the Klamath Basin is trying to reshape its own future.
“What we’re doing is changing the dynamic in the Klamath Basin and making a significant impact on the quality of life for the people of Klamath County,” said Merritt Driscoll, executive director of the Sky Lakes Foundation. “We’re making this a place where people want to come to live, work, learn and play.”
The Foster G. McGaw Prize is sponsored by the Baxter Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Baxter International, and administered by the American Hospital Association. It is awarded annually to a healthcare organization for community service, partnerships and work addressing social factors that influence health and access to care.
This year’s other finalists were Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.; Grady Health System in Atlanta; and Valley Children’s Healthcare in Madera, California.
Dr. Stewart Decker, medical director of the Sky Lakes Wellness Center, said the award reflects a broader team effort.
“This is a team effort, and it has been such a privilege to work with all our partners to help our neighbors lead healthier lives,” Decker said. “Together we are proving small changes can add up to big, lasting results for individuals and the entire community.”
Cover image: Children play at More Park Playground in Klamath Falls, one of the outdoor-access projects connected to the community health work recognized by the Foster G. McGaw Prize. Photo courtesy of Sky Lakes Medical Center.
