A Passion that Never Leaves You: Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Sandral Hullett
Passion and compassion. Innovator and collaborator. Committed to rural health. Always putting patients first. A servant of the people.
These were just some of the ways that speakers Loretta Wilson and Dr. Wanda Madison Minor described Dr. Sandral Hullet during a joint presentation in February as part of Black History Month activities at the College of Community Health Sciences.
Wilson is CEO of Hill Hospital in York, Ala., and Minor is a research deputy with the Kettering Foundation, a non-partisan research foundation in Dayton, Ohio.
Hullett, of Birmingham, Ala., was the first female and the second African American accepted into The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency Program, which is operated by CCHS. She went on to have a successful career as a rural practitioner in Alabama, serving for many years at Greene County Hospital in Eutaw, as medical director of West Alabama Health Services in Eutaw, and as a preceptor for medical students, resident physicians and other health-care providers. Most recently, she served as CEO of Cooper Green Mercy Hospital in Birmingham.
She has received state and national recognition for her work and has garnered a national reputation for expertise in rural health. Hullett served on the Alabama Family Practice Rural Health Board and was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor. She served on the UA Board of Trustees from 1982 to 2001. She was inducted into the Institute of Medicine, a unit of the National Academy of Sciences, and was named Rural Doctor of the Year by the National Rural Health Board in 1988.
Wilson said in everything she does, Hullett raises awareness about rural health, a major concern in Alabama. “She chose to stay in rural Greene County because she knew how important it was for people in rural communities to have health care, and how important it was for resident physicians and medical students to be introduced to rural health care,” Wilson said.
Minor said Hullett was concerned about health care for all citizens of Alabama and “sought to make health care a right. She was committed to the work and gave it her all. She was not afraid. She went up against powerful people but did it in a respectful way. She was an innovator and would bring everyone to the table. She knew it took everyone working together to solve health problems.
“She was a servant of the people,” Minor continued. “She believed in collaboration with all the people of Alabama. She believed when we all work together, the people win.”
Minor reconnected with Hullett in 2015 while developing a guide with the Kettering Foundation about working with communities to improve health.
Wilson got to know Hullett while working at West Alabama Health Services. “I am where I am today because of Dr. Sandral Hullett.”
Wilson said at the time, she needed a job, called West Alabama Health Services, and Hullett answered the phone. “I started working there as a switchboard operator and eventually became her administrative assistant.”
Today, Wilson is CEO of Hill Hospital and founder and director of the Rural Alabama Health Prevention Center, a non-profit organization that works to address social determinants of health in West Alabama. The name is the title of a grant Hullett wrote. “She gave me her stamp of approval,” Wilson said.
Minor said Hullett was both an effective administrator and a humanitarian. “Her legacy is passion and compassion. Putting the care and health of her patients was front and center for her.”
Added Wilson: “She listened to everybody, and she listened to her patients. And she put them first.”