Oral Histories LIVE!

Darlene Schmidt
May 12, 2026
6:00 p.m.

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Darlene Schmidt is an August 1966 graduate of the University of Iowa’s Practical Nursing Program and has held full-time employment since graduating. For 25 years, she worked as the office nurse of Dr. William Finn until his sudden, unexpected death in 1999. From September 1995 through November 2002, Schmidt was the part-time Executive Director of His Hands Ministries DBA Cedar Rapids Free Medical Clinic. In 2002, the organization amicably split and she assumed the full-time position of CEO / Clinic Executive Director of Community Health Free Clinic. Community Health Free Clinic was co-founded by Dr. William Galbraith and Darlene Schmidt.

CHFC serves individuals who are uninsured, underserved, or without the ability to pay for healthcare primarily living in eastern Iowa. Open five days a week, the Clinic offers primary medical, dental, vision, and prescription services to around 4,250 unduplicated patients annually. Schmidt is responsible for the daily operations of the Clinic, community outreach, fundraising, and provider recruitment. Since being founded in 2002 through December 2025, Community Health Free Clinic has recorded over 164,798 patients served, 630,919 total services including 5,317 eye services and 22,506 dental services, over 447,574 hours donated by volunteers with an estimated value of $27,330,019, and the cost to patients for services $0.       

In addition to her role with Community Health Free Clinic, Schmidt is an active Associate with the Sisters of Mercy, has provided volunteer leadership for the Marion Project of Habitat for Humanity, and is a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Marion, Iowa.