Growing up on his family’s fourth-generation ranch, Lane Alley knows how important it is to have a healthcare clinic less than an hour away.
Providers at the Isabel clinic found he had a heart murmur during a sports physical and helped his mother manage a blood-clotting issue. Her health was threatened several times when Alley was younger. Having a clinic less than an hour away was made the difference in protecting her life, he said.
“She had scares when I was in high school and junior high that definitely could have been pretty bad if we hadn’t had a clinic that was 20-30 miles away,” Alley said. “It’s just very important to have access in rural SD here when we’re two hours away from the nearest Walmart, McDonalds, Costco.”
His grandfather bought the ranch he currently lives on in the mid-1980s. He grew up on his family’s south place where his great-grandfather homesteaded. They run a cow-calf pair operation and still use horses for a lot of the cattle work.
“The small community means everything to my family,” he said.
The importance of having a clinic in Isabel led his family including his parents and his wife, Bailey, to donate to the Cowboys Care Bull Bash, held in Isabel July 13, 2024. They wanted to support their own hometown clinic so not just their family would continue to benefit but to protect access to care for their neighbors living in nearby small towns.
“Some people just don’t quite understand how remote we are out here especially when your closest grocery store is still 20 miles away,” Alley said. “Luckily we have a great clinic that’s been here forever that’s only 20 miles away.”
Like many people who choose to live in a small town, his family is dedicated to their community and gives thanks for their rural lifestyle by donating their time and financial resources to local organizations and causes.
His grandfather was involved in “any board possible,” Alley said. He grew up on the Isabel Rodeo Association. His parents were heavily involved in that organization for many years. When the Horizon Health Foundation chose to host the Bull Bash in Isabel the community turned out in spades to help organize and execute the event. Their efforts paid off in raising a substantial amount of money to support Horizon Health’s northwest clinics.
The success of the Bull Bash illustrates a resurgence in the value people place on the rural way of life, Alley said was in decline for a period of time.
“It’s just great to see small town America thriving again,” he said. “People are realizing this is a great way of life and a great way to raise your kids.”
It made a big impact on the town to see people from miles around and across the state traveling to Isabel to support the Bull Bash and access to rural healthcare.
“It kind of gave a guy goose bumps to see the amount of people that showed up,” Alley said. “The amount of money that they raised at the Bull Bash was just, it was pretty amazing to see and it’s great to know that there’s that many people that are looking out for these communities.”
Alley said he hopes his gift and those of others, help preserve a future for healthcare in Isabel. He is heartened to see providers who grew up in Isabel returning to serve his local community.
“It’s awesome to see them here to make sure we have that access, and it stays for generations to come so hopefully my kids and grandkids have the same access to healthcare as we have in the past,” he said.