"Belanger opened the Paint Lick Family Clinic in 2000. It is a community owned non-profit organization with a mission is to provide excellent health care regardless of the patient’s ability to pay. Before starting the clinic, Belanger practiced for 10 years in a community health center in McKee. Recognizing that much of his time was spent tackling paperwork and dealing with government bureaucracy, he decided it was time to make a radical change.
Paint Lick Family Clinic maintains a very low overhead to provide care at the lowest cost possible. The clinic operates on a cash-only basis, independent of federal funding and insurance companies, which allows them the flexibility to focus on providing services rather than concentrating on reimbursements.
The average charge is $20 and patients are asked to pay what they can, when they can. The clinic never turns away patients because of their inability to pay. The low overhead also is made possible by Belanger’s requested salary, which is at a level less than many first year family medicine residents.
A press release from Saint Joseph—Berea commends Belanger’s commitment to his mission.
"Belanger lives by his mission," said the release from Katie Heckman, the hospital’s community relations manager. "In one account of his service, a Hispanic mother was looking for medical care for an ill child late on a Friday afternoon. After being told by numerous offices they would not be seen unless they could pay a sizable fee up front, they came across the name of Dr. Belanger. Upon being contacted, he waited in his office until the mother and child could arrive, which lasted well into the evening. A contribution to the clinic was all that was asked for, only if there was ability to give."
