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Oral History Interview with Evelyn Schmidt, February 9, 1999. Interview K-0137. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
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  • Abstract
    Dr. Evelyn Schmidt left the South after earning her undergraduate and medical degrees at Duke University, convinced that her liberal political views alienated her from a racially and economically polarized region. When she returned in the early 1970s to head the Durham Community Medical Center, she found a city transformed by desegregation, but with a new set of challenges posed by enduring poverty and an influx of new immigration. In this interview, Schmidt shares her beliefs about the importance of providing access to health care, the need for preventive medicine, her fears about a rising uninsured population, and the challenges of bilingualism. As she discusses these issues she describes not only her philosophy but also the needs of a changing community and the connections between race, class, nationality, and health.
    Excerpts
  • Liberal political beliefs make Schmidt uncomfortable in the South
  • Lincoln Health Center's history and mission
  • Challenges posed by a rising Hispanic population in Durham
  • Importance of bilingualism at the Lincoln Health Center
  • Learn More
  • Finding aid to the Southern Oral History Program Collection
  • Database of all Southern Oral History Program Collection interviews
  • Subjects
  • Women physicians--North Carolina
  • Durham (N.C.)--Social conditions
  • Lincoln Health Center (Durham, N.C.)
  • Latin Americans--Medical care--North Carolina
  • African Americans--Medical care--North Carolina
  • Schmidt, Evelyn D.
  • The Southern Oral History Program transcripts presented here on Documenting the American South undergo an editorial process to remove transcription errors. Texts may differ from the original transcripts held by the Southern Historical Collection.

    Funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this title.