2024 Person of the Year: Dr. Lanny Reimer — Providing the best care to the community

Dr. Lanny Reimer retired in December from Weston County Health Services with a legacy of dedication to the community. A retirement party on Dec. 13 for the doctor and his colleague PA Jan Mason drew more than 100 people, according to his wife, Connie.

Reimer, who grew up in Newcastle, was “super dedicated to his community, to the people of Weston County,” Dr. Michael Jording said. “You just don’t find that very often these days.”

Jording praised Reimer for learning — and persisting for years — in the trade of “everything” medical, from delivering babies and working in the emergency room to doing some surgery and running an office.

”That’s what’s made his life so important for our community,” Jording said.

Jording also gave Reimer “kudos” for having the foresight to develop the Upton clinic to serve western Weston County.

Lynnea Watt-Prell, the office manager at the WCHS Newcastle Clinic, said Reimer has given “impeccable” care to his patients as doctor, confidant and friend.

“I’ve worked for him for 43 years and he’s never changed,” she said. “He’s always been the compassionate person that I first met.”

One instance of Reimer’s generosity that she recalls is that when it was legal to exchange gifts or services for medical care, a man brought Reimer a load of firewood and Reimer asked Watt-Prell to deduct a sum from the man’s medical bill. Watt-Prell was surprised because Reimer didn’t have a fireplace, but Reimer told her that the man wasn’t aware that Reimer didn’t have a fireplace and the firewood was the only thing that he could give Reimer to help pay for the bill.

Watt-Prell said that Reimer would also give patients money so they could afford medication or, if they needed to travel out of town to see another provider, gas money. When she noted to him that certain patients who were only paying $10 per month were never able to make the final payment, he would tell her that he didn’t mind because he was there to serve them, not become a millionaire.

Reimer never bragged about having done those things, and she never told anyone because she always believed it wasn’t her place to do so — until the Person of the Year nomination.

Dr. Chuck Franklin said Reimer was both one of the smartest people he had ever met, with what “seemed like a nearly photographic memory,” and someone who really cared about his patients. Reimer would call specialists and find out whether it made sense for the patient to see the specialist or for Reimer to handle the health concern himself.

“If he didn’t think we could provide the best patient care here, he didn’t want to do it,” Franklin said.

For many years, before they decided to make family life, personal time and sleep more of a priority, all the doctors worked at least 80 hours a week and sometimes about 100, according to Franklin. Reimer handled all the chronic health problems of his established patients, and that particularly became a focus for him in the last few years.

“A lot of people depended on him,” Franklin said. “He was their friend.”

Reimer was also a good businessman, according to Franklin, who was something of a competitor of Reimer before the two began directly working together. He handled a lot of the business administration work, including finances and accounting and rural health regulations, at the clinic for many years.

Carmen Allison, who retired as the director of Home Health in fall 2023, said she admires Reimer for his compassion and commitment to providing the best care for the Weston County community.

“His patients always knew he had their back and I was asked many times, ‘What does Dr. Reimer think?’ ‘Have you talked to Dr. Reimer yet?’” Allison said. “I believe he is one of the reasons that we have such excellent health care in our community, and he has been a strong supporter of our hospital and especially the employees. I don’t know if there will be anyone who will be able to fill the gap he is leaving behind.”

Reimer was always willing to answer questions and be a friend and mentor. Piper Allard, another Person of the Year nominee for 2024, said Reimer’s nomination for the award is “incredibly well-deserved.”

“His dedication, compassion and unwavering commitment to making a positive impact are truly inspiring,” Allard said. “He embodies the values of leadership, kindness and service, and our community is so fortunate to have him. This recognition is a testament to his remarkable contributions and the difference he continues to make in the lives of so many.”

Reimer was inducted into the Newcastle High School Hall of Fame in 2018. According to his biography for the honor, he graduated from NHS in 1967, then studied pharmacy at the University of Wyoming and medicine at the University of Colorado before completing a family practice residency in Sacramento, California.

Connie Reimer said Lanny became a registered pharmacist before he decided to go to medical school, and he decided to pursue medical school because doctors sometimes wouldn’t listen to him about the drugs that patients should receive.

He and Connie, who had married during their years in Laramie, returned to Newcastle in 1979, where they taught childbirth classes together. Connie said she and Lanny led changes in how birthing took place at the hospital, making it more “family centered.”

Lanny also served on the school board in the couple’s early days in Newcastle, she said. Elementary school students at the time did not receive physical education instruction, and the couple helped convince the district to change that.

Reimer said he was drawn to practice medicine in Weston County because of his interest in obstetrics, the opportunity to be close to his family and Connie’s, and the chance to work with Dr. Willis Franz, who had taken care of him and his family as a general practitioner when he was a child. Reimer considered Franz, who died in November 2023, a role model and a friend.

Reimer was the first recipient of the hospital’s first Willis Franz Dedication and Longevity Award.

Reimer also was named a distinguished alumnus of the University of Wyoming in 2001 and a distinguished alumnus of the University of Wyoming College of Health Sciences in 2007.

Angie Phillips, who served as the hospital’s director of patient care before beginning work at Weston County Public Health, said that she believes Reimer is very professional and a “huge knowledge base.”

“He treats all of his patients just like he would his family,” Phillips said.

She remembers from her days of working with him that Reimer would personally transport his patients to the emergency room whenever they needed emergency care so that he could directly communicate with ER staff what the patient was experiencing and comfort the patient. If he found out that one of his established patients was in the hospital, he would visit with them on his off time. He also consistently quizzed staff, especially nurses in the ER, to help them build their expertise.

Family life

Connie Reimer acknowledged that it was hard for the family for Reimer to be working as much as he did. The family often ate dinner without him because he worked late, and they never took a long vacation because Lanny never took more than a week off work. Even in the later years, Lanny has come home, eaten, taken a short break and then copiously completed paperwork on each day’s patients.

“He’s going to miss it, but it’s also time for him to have something else to do because it’s just been a long time and it’s been super consuming,” she said.

The couple still managed to have fun, and Crystal Voss and Christopher Reimer, two of the couple’s four children, shared the impact their father has had on them and the community. He spent time with each of the children, supporting their interests.

“Not only did he work like a monster, he was a good dad and family man,” Christopher said.

Voss said that her father worked “tirelessly” for Weston County, with lots of overnight calls, emergency room visits and different types of medicine to care for the community. His dedication was “unsurpassed.” She believes that he always wanted what was best for his patients, across the multiple generations he served.

“He really was the quintessential family doctor in a rural area,” Voss said.

She said that the family understood that when he was busy taking care of patients, he was doing important work. At the same time, Reimer was present when he was home, especially when they went on vacation - before cellphones existed.

“It’s changed now, with cellphones and computers, and even when he visits me now in the summers, he’s been checking in every day and taking care of patients and calling them, but growing up, those were precious times that we could travel together and have those boundaries,” she said.

He was always generous with helping his children and found ways to effectively help, according to Voss.

“He’s really good at seeing what we need and then sending it to us,” she said.

Reimer also took care of his father, who lived until he was 100, Christopher told the News Letter Journal. In the final years of his life, his dad couldn’t walk by himself, so Reimer made time to go and walk with him.

“He’s just been an absolute pillar in that community, and it wouldn’t have been the same without him working as he did for 45 years,” Christopher said.

Reimer said he’s grateful he’s been able to work that long. Caring for patients in Weston County has been easy because he got along well with his patients and he enjoyed problem-solving and helping people, he said.

“It’s been a pleasure and an honor to be involved with everybody and their families, and I’m going to miss it,” he said.

He and Connie will still live in town and carry on their friendships with fellow local residents, but he looks forward to spending more time with his children and 10 grandchildren.