Partners, Matt Haney and Frank Rooks, Jr. established Professional Rehabilitation and Orthopaedic Physical Therapy on October 3, 1995 in Wilmington, Delaware. The company's original name was Foulk Road Physical Therapy; this was the name of the road that the clinic was located on. Haney and Rooks were classmates at The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science where they each earned their master's degree in physical therapy.
The 1,500 square foot clinic was situated on the first floor of a small two-story office building in North Wilmington near Fairfax. Haney and Rooks were joined in the office by a full-time staff person and part-time help from Haney's father Ken, who oversaw human resources functions. The small outpatient clinic steadily grew as Haney's and Rooks' reputation for personal and quality care grew among Wilmington's medical community.
Growth continued into 1997 with the addition of an on-site physical therapy provider contract with Delaware's largest banking institution. In August of that year, Haney and Rooks were joined by another former classmate, Joe Giorno. Giorno, who had experience working under Pat Croce at Croce's Sports Physical Therapists, Inc., in Pennsylvania, brought the ability to foster and nurture both community and professional relationships ─ a dimension that Foulk Road Physical Therapy needed for continued growth.
Giorno's arrival provided another key ingredient in the company's recipe for success. In addition to being physical therapists with an excellent reputation for rehabilitating patients, Haney, Rooks, and Giorno each had a business specialization that enabled the company to capitalize on growth opportunities quickly. Haney oversaw the clinical aspects, Rooks the business and accounting, and Giorno the internal and external marketing and public relations.
As a result of their commitment to quality care and to fostering strong community ties and relationships, the company growth continued at a fast pace. Foulk Road Physical Therapy needed to find a new home with more space. So, in August 1998 they moved to Branmar Plaza shopping center ─ a location that allowed them to continue servicing their existing patient and physician base. The move to Branmar necessitated a name change to Professional Rehabilitation and Orthopaedic Physical Therapy (PRO Physical Therapy).
Next it was time to branch out geographically and PRO Physical opened facilities in West Chester, Pennsylvania and Greenville, Delaware. Suddenly three facilities strong and with an eye to the future, the partners imbued the company with a commitment to quality patient care, organizational culture and values that stressed responsiveness to patient and client needs.
During the discussion to open the spine center, Haney, Rooks, and Giorno were approached by yet another prominent Wilmington orthopaedic surgeon, who introduced them to Kathy Callaway, a local physical therapist with a superior reputation and a somewhat unique certification, CHT, or certified hand therapist. The relationship spawned PRO Physical's fifth location, the Hand Center, which opened in January 2000 adjacent to the Spine Center in Newark.
Shortly thereafter, the owners were approached by locally renowned physical therapist Paul Schweizer who wanted to partner in opening new clinics with an aquatic therapy focus. In 2001, Schweizer was named a partner and PRO Physical opened clinics focused on aquatics in Bear, New Castle, and Pike Creek/Hockessin, Delaware.