Great Barrington, Mass. – January 30 – Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires (VIM Berkshires) welcomes Gail Belmuth to its staff as director of development and communications. Belmuth has more than 25 years of experience in communications and marketing for a wide range of corporate, political and nonprofit clients. Most recently, she ran a successful communications consultancy, with a focus on helping organizations through major transformations, including mergers and acquisitions and other drivers of rapid expansion.
In her new role, Belmuth will become a key member of VIM’s management team, responsible for fundraising and development, business and community partnerships, special events, media relations, social media, advertising, marketing and communications.
“I’m thrilled to use the skills I’ve developed in the corporate sector to support this incredible organization,” says Belmuth. “At VIM, our passionate staff and volunteers are changing the lives of our patients and contributing to the strength of our local workforce.”
While running her consultancy, Belmuth’s clients included CVSHealth, Novartis, Montefiore Medical Center, Marsh McLennan, Siemens, Xerox, Alcoa, International Rescue Committee, Accenture, ITT/Xylem, Deloitte and Ingersoll Rand. Before that, Belmuth was global chief communications officer for International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. She also served in leadership roles at several leading global communications agencies, including Burson-Marsteller. Early in her career, Belmuth worked with reforming governments in the former Soviet Union and Latin America. She graduated from Brown University and moved to the Berkshires from New York four years ago. In the Berkshires, Belmuth has been a part-time executive director at Berkshire Pulse and a member of the Wellness Committee for the Southern Berkshire Regional School district.
“VIM has been growing 17 percent a year over each of the last three years, and the need for our services continues to increase,” explains Ilana Steinhauer, FNP and VIM Executive Director. “Gail’s unique experience and professionalism will help ensure we have the resources to fulfill our mission and successfully serve our community for years to come.”
About Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires
VIM Berkshire’s mission is to provide access to quality health care in a respectful and caring manner for income-qualified, uninsured and underinsured adults living in the Berkshires. VIM Berkshires provides free, integrated medical and dental care, behavioral health services, optometry, nutrition counseling, massage and acupuncture and has pioneered Shared Medical Appointments and a Non-Opioid Pain Management Program in Berkshire County.
In 2019, VIM’s volunteer and staff clinicians treated nearly 1,000 individual patients over more than 5,500 visits. Volunteer clinicians provided more than $1.3 million worth of free care. In addition, VIM volunteers provided more than 1,000 free rides for patients to critical medical appointments. VIM made over 400 referrals to address patient needs for housing, personal safety, legal aid and other social determinants of health. We envision a society in which all members of our community have an equal opportunity to achieve good health.