Sky Lakes and Oregon Tech plan osteopathic medical school; commissioners urged to plan for housing and workforce growth

David Cobble, chief executive officer of Sky Lakes Medical Center, told the Klamath County Board of Commissioners that Sky Lakes and Oregon Tech (OIT) are advancing planning for an osteopathic medical school and that a university planning study is underway to define scope and timeline.

"2031 would be what we're hoping would be on the most maybe the most optimistic that we would have our first class of medical students at OIT," Cobble said, describing the date as an optimistic target. He said the partners have been public about planning for an osteopathic program and that the school would aim to train physicians in a rural setting.

Cobble told commissioners training physicians in a rural setting can increase the likelihood that graduates practice in rural areas. He said the hospital and university are discussing class sizes but noted even moderate enrollment would create housing demand. As an example, Cobble said a 25‑student class could quickly scale to four class years (about 100 students) and that a larger eventual enrollment could bring roughly 200 students requiring housing; he said many students arrive with spouses or partners who also need work and housing.

Cobble urged county and city planning offices to consider residential zoning and incentives to accommodate higher‑density and newer apartment housing to meet student and early‑career family needs. He said Sky Lakes anticipates the school would also boost recruitment and retention of physicians and advanced practice providers; he noted the hospital recruited roughly 24 new physicians and APPs last year and cited high retention from local training programs such as Klamath Community College.

Cobble also described local facility investments tied to outpatient growth: Sky Lakes has begun work on a downtown clinic in the former DHS building and expects the physical therapy clinic to attract an estimated 200–300 patient visits per day, which the hospital said would circulate more activity to downtown Klamath Falls.

Commissioners indicated interest in early coordination between the county, city and Sky Lakes on zoning and infrastructure to support housing demand; no formal actions were taken at the meeting. Cobble and his partners said they will return with further details as the OIT planning study progresses.

Background: Cobble and others said training physicians in rural settings increases the likelihood of subsequent rural practice; they framed the medical school as a multi‑year project with substantial planning, capital and housing implications for the county.