Rotary Club of Downtown Macon honors Dr. Carl Lane with inaugural Hidden Hero Award
Dr. Carl Lane is retired.
At least, officially, the cardiothoracic surgeon — someone who specializes in treating the heart, lungs, esophagus and other chest organs — hung it up after 46 years of practicing medicine. But even in retirement, Lane’s contributions are significant: he’s spent more than 500 hours over the past two years volunteering to help patients with chronic diseases.
It’s one of the reasons the Rotary Club of Downtown Macon gave Lane its inaugural Hidden Hero Award last week at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. The award recognizes “unsung heroes” in the community who go out of their way to help others.
“This is wonderful, and a surprise,” Lane said after receiving his award, noting his farming background contributes to his desire to work, even after retiring. “I didn’t even know it existed, but I am very honored and thankful that they gave me this award.”
Lane said he gets a good feeling from helping those who don’t have access to medical care, and enjoys teaching medical students at the Macon Volunteer Clinic.
Clinic executive director Nancy White said Lane was one of the first physicians to return to see patients weekly after the COVID-19 shutdown.
“He is an inspiration to our patients, medical students and clinical staff,” she said.
A graduate of Yale School of Medicine, Lane has been active at the Macon Volunteer Clinic since 2011. He sees patients and mentors medical students and residents every Wednesday and Thursday morning at the clinic on Rogers Avenue.
“We had many wonderful people nominated for the Hidden Hero Award from the community,” said Steve Bell, president of the Rotary Club of Downtown Macon. “Dr. Lane stands out for the decade of compassion and generosity he has given to working people at the Macon clinic.”
The Rotary Club will make a donation to the Macon Volunteer Clinic in Lane’s honor. The club meets Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. in person and (during the pandemic) on Zoom. For information about the club, see facebook.com/DTMaconRotary or downtownmaconrotary.org.
The Macon Volunteer Clinic was established in 2003 to provide high-quality primary health and dental care and medications at no cost to working, uninsured Bibb County adults. In 2020, MVC provided $2,178,439 in non-narcotic prescription medication assistance, had 5,034 patient encounters, 265 dental procedures, and 356 cancer screenings. MVC is 100% philanthropically funded.