LEE LANE, TALHO's ADVOCATE
Lee Lane was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He learned early in his life the value of hard work, determination and honesty. He grew up in a cohesive family and places high values on family and relationships.
After graduating high school Lee attended Oklahoma State University and the University of Tulsa where he studied Business Administration. In 1965 Lee was involved in an automobile accident that broke his neck which resulted in partial paralysis in his arms and legs. At this point Lee had no idea how this accident would alter his life forever and the new paths it would take him down.
Over the years he gained partial recovery but as late as 1972 he continued to wear a brace on his left arm and hand with small slings to hold each finger. With these impairments he decided to meet the problem “head on” and moved to Texas to enroll in court reporting school in Abilene. Through intensive use of the stenotype and typewriter he began to overcome the impairments when a new opportunity knocked as the State began to open the Public Health Regional offices. This was the beginning of Lee’s life in the public health sector. Lee quickly gained knowledge and expertise and was soon moved to the central office in Austin with the Texas Department of Health (now Department of State Health Services).
It was during this time span of over 25 years that Lee carved out a name for himself as a public health advocate. He participated in many workforce committees and task groups and positioned himself as a voice for Public Health and particularly Local Public Health. Some of his most fond memories include participating on the Governor’s Task Force and subsequent passage of the Primary Health Care Services Act in 1985 (HB1844); assistance with passage of the Child Passenger Safety Seat System in 1984 (SB 3); assistance in legislation enabling the establishment of the first rural health clinic in Texas to receive cost-based reimbursement under the Federal Rural Health Clinic Act; and participating in a trip across the Texas-Mexico border in search of Mexican markets and herbalist selling raw products for the tea-gordolobos for the treatment of tuberculosis. It was later proven to have a toxic substance that caused serious side effects, and in one case death, in Texas tuberculosis patients that were taking both TB drugs and the tea-gordolobos. This led to a change in the interviewing of tuberculosis patients including taking an herb medical history.
Lee retired from the State Health Department in 1999 to pursue his sports photography business full time. At this point, Lee had no idea this would be a short lived retirement plan. In late 2000, Lee was approached to work with a new organization, TALHO. Lee accepted the offer and began working for TALHO from his home office.
TALHO had begun as a coalition of local health departments in 1998 and almost two years prior to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack, recognized bioterrorism as a viable threat and many local health departments did not have telecommunications technology. With assistances from the Texas Telecommunications Infrastructure Board and the Centers for Disease Control & Preventions accepted the challenge of building a new communications network. This was the beginning of the statewide Health Alert Network (HAN) system and is now part of a broader initiative known as the Public Health Information Network (PHIN).
In the short period of time, since 2000, and under Lee’s leadership, TALHO has grown to incorporate a permanent building location, a staff of 11 and various technological and advocacy programs for its members and other local public health partners.
Lee Lane is a man who has lived several different lives all in one lifetime. However, without these life changing individual experiences and his positive outlook on life, he would not be the person he is today. Lee tries to live each day to the fullest and is always thankful for everything that he has, and says “It is great to be alive and I am proud to be the Executive Director of the Texas Association of Local Health Officials”.