Jersey Physical Therapy celebrates 15 years serving the community

KENDALL PARK, NJ – Not only did local physical therapists Marc Rubenstein and Geoffrey Hunt go to nursery school together. The two became quick friends and even followed similar education and career paths, each eventually landing back in their hometown of Kendall Park.

Now, the two co-founders of Jersey Physical Therapy get to experience another milestone together: the celebration of the clinic’s 15 th year of serving the rehabilitation, health and wellness needs of patients living, working and playing in the areas of Kendall Park, Milltown/East Brunswick, and Plainsboro.
Rubenstein, Hunt and the entire Jersey Physical Therapy staff marked the occasion with a Patient Appreciation Day on Thursday, Jan. 18, an event to honor and thank one branch of the family tree Rubenstein said was planted with the opening of Jersey Physical Therapy in 2002.

“The family … that means so many things to us,” he said. “It’s not just our immediate families, which have been there every step of the way to help us and support us. It’s also the Jersey Physical Therapy staff, the community, and all of patients who have trusted and supported us as we’ve grown and expanded our reach.”
Rubenstein and Hunt first teamed up to open Jersey Physical Therapy in 2002. With the help of their wives, Melinda Rubenstein and Jennifer Hunt, who are also licensed physical therapists, the four started out by offering outpatient physical therapy in the home, (which they continue to offer to this day). Within six months, however, they were able to open their first brick-and- mortar clinic in Kendall Park.

The clinic expanded in 2006 when local physical therapist Sean Moore partnered with Rubenstein and Hunt, who helped them open Jersey Physical Therapy’s second clinic in Milltown/East Brunswick. Moore stated he wanted to send thanks to "everyone who has been a part of the Jersey PT family, from all the wonderful patients that we have had to the compassionate staff that has done such a tremendous job over the years. And I am looking forward to the next 15 years."

A third clinic in Plainsboro opened its doors in 2012, along with a satellite office at Buckingham Place Adult Day Center. Currently, Jersey Physical Therapy employs 33 people, including 11 physical therapists.

“I’m proud of the people who work for us, and I’m proud of the communities we’ve contributed to and built in our locations,” Rubenstein said. “We’ve always tried to put the patient first and attend to their needs throughout their health care journeys. That’s the kind of business we’re in. We’re really here to serve our clients.”

The past 15 years, Rubenstein added, has also been marked by a concerted effort to improve the community through a variety of outreach efforts. Jersey Physical Therapy staff members regularly host community lectures about health and wellness at local senior centers and libraries, and they’ve long supported local charities (e.g., Hugs for Brady and the Reeve Foundation) through various fundraisers, drives and professional leadership roles.

“More importantly than whether these efforts help our business – I don’t know if it does or not – it’s important to us to give back to the community that supports us,” Hunt said. “It’s the community Marc and I grew up in. We’ve been in this community almost our entire lives. It’s my home, and you feel a connection to it. So when you can help people in the community, that’s a good thing."

More recently, Rubenstein started Jersey LiveWell, an initiative that takes a proactive approach to helping people achieve healthy lifestyles through education, empowerment, motivation and accountability.

“It’s not just a business to them,” said Annette Tumulak, the office and billing manager at Jersey Physical Therapy and a 15-year employee. “[Rubenstein, Hunt and Moore] truly care about the community, and the patients feel it and know it. Some of them have been coming for so many years that I feel like we’ve adopted them.

Both Hunt and Tumulak also touched on a theme common within the doors of each Jersey Physical Therapy clinic: family. “A lot of [our success] has been due to relationship development with our patients,” Hunt said. “Connecting with our patients and treating them as if they were part of our family – treating them the way we’d want our family members to be treated.”

About Jersey Physical Therapy
Jersey Physical Therapy was founded in 2002 in Kendall Park by South Brunswick natives Marc Rubenstein, PT, DPT, OCS, and Geoffrey Hunt, BS, PT, OCS. The clinic expanded in 2006 with partner Sean Moore, PT, MPT, and the opening of a second office in Milltown/East Brunswick. Both practices, along with a third location in Plainsboro, strive to deliver the highest quality in physical therapy services with a focus on evidence-based, one-on- one therapy.