Sky Lakes names Dr. Niskanen new CMO

Grant Niskanen, M.D., a long-time Family Practice physician in Klamath Falls, has been named the new Sky Lakes Chief Medical Officer, David Cauble, Sky Lakes President and Chief Executive Officer, announced today.

“Dr. Niskanen is well-qualified, highly regarded by the medical staff, has a reputation of dedication to patients and a history of commitment to our community,” Cauble said. “I am excited to have his expertise in this new expanded role on the executive team.”

Niskanen has served as the Sky Lakes Vice President of Medical Affairs since 2013 while also caring for patients at Sky Lakes Primary Care Clinic. As the organization’s Chief Medical Officer, he will have additional oversight responsibilities including Sky Lakes Cancer Treatment Center, Cascades East Family Practice, and other Sky Lakes departments, Cauble said. “His clinic practice will be transferred to other providers while he transitions to the newly created position.”

The role of Chief Medical Officer is new for Sky Lakes that builds on the successes of the Vice President of Medical Affairs and brings increased focus and attention to our quality and patient safety journey, care innovation, community health initiatives, and the support and development of our valued medical staff, Cauble said.

“I am looking forward to the challenge and being part of the future at Sky Lakes,” Niskanen said. “This is a particularly exciting time to be in healthcare and I believe my experience will be of immense value to this organization and our community.”

After practicing Family Medicine for 11 years in New Hampshire, Niskanen returned to Klamath Falls – he completed his residency in 1996 at the Cascades East Family Practice program on the medical center campus – and established the medical center’s Hospitalist Service in 2007 and has been its director since.

Other accomplishments include creating several patient-care services and designing and implementing a program that elevates the clinical practice of Advance Practice Providers.

He earned his medical degree in 1992 from George Washington School of Medicine, Washington, D.C., completed an internal medicine internship at University of Washington, Seattle, in 1993, and returned to George Washington for his internal medicine residency, which he completed in 1994.