“ I think a big part of that goes back to the fact that everyone in the community benefits. There are a lot of people locally who are uninsured, and only a small percentage are actually patients of ours. We encourage people to visit our website, look at all the services available through the clinic and reach out to us. We want all medically uninsured in our community to know we are here for them.”
Hutson said that Cullman Regional and Cullman Regional Foundation are key supporters of the clinic’ s mission.
“ While we do have to send most specialty referrals to UAB, Cullman Regional has been very generous in supporting us financially, and they are also gracious to process labs drawn at the clinic and see some of our patients for diagnostic procedures.”
As part of the clinic’ s physical growth, Good Samaritan is working to dispel three main myths of the clinic – it is an urgent care facility, that it maintains a staff solely composed of volunteers and that patients must be unemployed or homeless.
“ A lot of people who think of a free clinic think that they’ ll meet with different people every time,” said Hutson.“ That’ s not the case at Good Samaritan. We are a primary care clinic that provides quality and continuity of care by highly experienced clinic staff. Our goal is for our patients to be employed, but they have to be well enough to be employed. We’ re here to serve people in transition, in school or working at jobs that do not offer health benefits.”
In addition to being a primary care clinic, the clinic provides community health screenings. This is possible with student volunteers from Cullman High School Medical Academy, the Cullman Area Technology Academy’ s Health Sciences Department and the Wallace State- Hanceville nursing program.
“ We also have many partner agencies in the community, such as the United Way,” said Hutson.“ So, if our patients have a specific need such as food insecurity, we’ re going to know where to refer them. It’ s wonderful to have such a great support system in our community.”
Good Samaritan’ s three-fold strategy for the new clinic involves Long-Term Mission Fulfillment, Prevention and Wellness Component and Exceptional Care for All Uninsured Residents.
“ By establishing this new facility, the clinic will be better positioned to fulfill its mission over the long term,” said Hutson.“ We’ re ensuring that we can continue making a meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve by expanding our reach and impact. The addition of a fitness / cardio room will provide access to exercise facilities thereby empowering our community members to take proactive steps towards their health and well-being and ultimately contributing to a healthier population. We are committed to ensuring that quality healthcare remains accessible to everyone.”
The new clinic will also feature a drive thru for its medication dispensary and a larger waiting area for the purpose of conducting more frequent after-hours patient education classes. Good Samaritan hopes to continue partnering with the Cullman County Extension Office and the North Alabama Agriplex for classes on exercise and developing healthy eating habits.
“ It’ s cheaper to eat unhealthy than it is to eat healthy,” said Hutson.“ So, we want to collaborate with the NAA and the extension office to educate our patients on how to cook and eat healthy while on a budget. We want to empower our patients to make healthy food choices and provide them with a place to exercise.”
Joland Hutson at the Good Samaritan’ s new clinic in Cullman next door to the VFW.
38 | PROFILE 2026