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Balthazar's good works have not gone unnoticed. A few months ago, his alma mater, Loyola University School of Medicine, gave him its esteemed Stritch Medal (previous winners include Heart Transplanter Christiaan Barnard and Astronaut-Physician Joseph Kerwin). The citation called him "a beacon for others in his profession and a promise of hope." Also, a film has been made about his storefront clinic by a group at Southern Illinois University.
For Dr. Bal the most satisfying tribute is from his own patients, who eagerly do anything they can to please him —scrubbing floors, washing windows, even baking casseroles for his lunch. In fact, when a woman patient recently sued him for malpractice (because of a scar left by the successful treatment of a facial malignancy), other patients were incensed. "Around here," said one, "suing Dr. Bal is like suing God." Balthazar, who refuses to carry malpractice insurance, easily won his case.