Doctor-Citizen of the Year

The Doctor-Citizen of the Year award is presented to a physician who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to improve the lives of their patients, to advance the practice of medicine, and to strengthen the Oregon communities in which they live and serve. 

Glenn Gailis, M.D. |Klamath Falls, Oregon

Dr. Gailis has been a family physician in Klamath Falls, Oregon for 48 years. He received his undergraduate degree in biology in 1965 and went on to receive his M.D. degree in 1970 from the University of Iowa, culminating with an internship at Oregon Health and Science University. Dr. Gailis was then drafted by the army spending time as a captain in Vietnam and an ER physician at Madigan Army Hospital at Fort Lewis, Washington. It was during his internship that Dr. Gailis met his wife of 51 years, Ursula. Dr. Gailis says that he feels any of his accomplishments were due to his wife, Ursula and their four children, "I have a wonderful family and I had the best job in the world in Klamath Falls. I was privileged to be able to help in the care of my patients."
An accomplished gymnast, his senior year Dr. Gailis earned the title of Illinois State Champion on the Still Rings and the All-Around Competition. His dedication to the sport earned him a full scholarship to the University of Iowa and he was voted into the University of Iowa Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.
A former Chief of Staff at Merle West Medical Center (now Sky Lakes), and recipient of the Klamath County Volunteer of the Year in 2017, Dr. Gailis retired at the age of 71 and has since continued to play an active role in his community; he has embraced his new passion of preventing disease from tobacco and nicotine addiction, was instrumental in getting the Blue Zone Health Initiative to Klamath Falls, the first in the northwest, serves on the board for Klamath Promise and Klamath Basin Wingwatcher's, volunteers at Sky Lake Wellness Center, and sponsors and volunteers at the Lost River Bluegrass Festival each year.