who we are

Our Story

Volunteers In Medicine Berkshires was created by a dedicated group of healthcare professionals, business people, and community volunteers during 2003. A year later, VIM welcomed our first patients at our current location in Great Barrington.

Since opening in 2004, demand for VIM’s services has been growing.  In spite of government insurance programs, thousands of Berkshire residents have qualified for VIM’s free health care.  Some are treated for a brief period and then become enrolled in a community health program.  But for hundreds of others, VIM becomes their medical home.

VIM Milestones

  • 2004–first medical and mental health patients were treated
  • 2005–first dental patients received care
  • 2007–healthcare space had to be increased by 50%
  • 2007–optometry services were added

Over the next few years, acupuncture, nutrition counseling and massage therapy were added.

Today, about 70 healthcare providers and a small paid staff treat roughly 1,000 patients during about 5,500 patient visits a year.

Volunteers in Medicine International

Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) was founded in Hilton Head, South Carolina by Dr. Jack McConnell in 1994. In response to requests for assistance in replicating the VIM Model, Dr. McConnell created a separate nonprofit to assist interested communities in launching their own VIM clinic. Today, this organization is known as the Volunteers in Medicine national office.

VIM Berkshires the first VIM facility in New England and is still the only one in Massachusetts.

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