He Thanked his Burn Caregivers with a Cookout

Bruce Minarik of Coopersburg received superior burn care and help with his medical bills

Payback time

Serving up burgers, franks and salads, Bruce Minarik (right) catered a picnic for hospital employees for free. It’s how he thanked us for caring for his burn injures and forgiving the medical bills not covered by his insurance.

What a vacation Bruce Minarik was having. The weather was great and the food was even better. A self-employed caterer, the Coopersburg man didn’t mind doing the cooking in his rented Ocean City, N.J., beach house, especially when the menu included steamed clams.

Turning his back from the stove for only a moment to take a phone call, the unthinkable happened--a pot of melting butter caught fire. He grabbed the flaming pot and sprinted towards the door. As he reached to open the screen door, the pot banged against it, spraying flaming butter onto his head and arms.

He was taken to a local hospital but disappointed with the care and chose to go to LVH-Cedar Crest the next day. “I was given two options,” he says, “receive treatment for the wounds and be out of work for several months or get skin grafting and get back to work sooner.”

Minarik chose grafting, but his limited health insurance would not cover his $80,000 medical bill. “I was devastated,” he says. “I always pay my bills, but I didn’t know how I would pay this one.” He applied for medical assistance but was denied because he made too much money. So, he faithfully began to pay off the debt in monthly installments.

It was then that director of patient financial service Sandi Colon noticed that Minarik qualified for LVHHN’s charity care program. “I called him and told him we could get rid of his debt totally,” Colon says. “He was so relieved, he cried.”

“I was ecstatic,” Minarik says, “but it didn’t feel right to accept the hospital’s money without giving something back.” When he learned that the patient accounting staff was being rewarded with a Friday afternoon picnic, Minarik jumped at the chance to help.

“He offered to cater the entire picnic at his own expense,” Colon says. “He wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.” Minarik would usually charge about $1,800 to cater an event for more than 100 people, but this party was on him.

“To get the kind of care I received was a miracle in itself,” Minarik says from behind his barbecue grill. “To get it for free is a God-send. Cooking for these people is the least I could do.”

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