East Suburban Sports Medicine Center helped Olympic wrestler Spencer Lee, countless others over 4 decades

When Franklin Regional’s Spencer Lee was pursuing his fourth state wrestling title, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, in his right knee, and his doctor said there simply wasn’t time to try and repair it before the state championships got underway.

During the championships, Lee’s ACL popped again. And as he and his father, Larry, spoke in the basement of the Giant Center in Hershey, East Suburban Sports Medicine Center owner John Bonaroti was hard at work trying to minimize Lee’s swelling and allow him to get back in the ring.

“John worked with him in such a dedicated way,” Larry Lee said. “He really went above and beyond, and when it came time for the state tournament, John followed Spencer through the whole postseason.”

While Lee wasn’t able to become a four-time PIAA champion, he didn’t let it hold him back. He went on to win three NCAA wrestling titles and recently earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic wrestling team, and his father said Bonaroti and the staff at ESSMC had a lot to do with getting him there.

“Spencer fell short of (his high school) goal, but he wouldn’t have had a chance to get there without ESSMC,” Larry Lee said.

ESSMC is marking its 40th anniversary in 2024, and Bonaroti and his staff recently took a look back at making their mark on physical therapy and sports medicine. Today, ESSMC staff provide physical therapy for patients across Pittsburgh’s east suburbs, as well as athletic training services in the Plum, Gateway and Kiski Area school districts.

The easy part was picking a name, said Bonaroti, a Murrysville resident.

“In 1984, everything out this way was called ‘East Suburban’ something or other,” he said. “East Suburban Veterinary Hospital, East Suburban Hospital before it was Forbes Regional — everything was ‘East Suburban.’ We adopted it, and a lot of those companies have changed their names over the years but we stuck with it.”

Today, ESSMC has eight locations across the east suburbs.

Bonaroti, along with second-generation owners Michael Tardio and Marielle Bonaroti Reynolds, are all physical therapy graduates from the University of Pittsburgh.

Bonaroti became certified as an athletic trainer during his physical therapy schooling, “and this was kind of the ideal way to blend the two. You treat the typical orthopedic population — older folks, people recovering from injuries — and then we also treat younger people involved in athletics. It was my passion, and I’ve been fortunate.”

Reynolds, a Wilkins resident, and Plum native Tardio both grew up in ESSMC facilities.

“My dad was one of John’s partners, and I can remember playing on the equipment while Marielle and I waited for our dads to get done with work,” Tardio said.

Reynolds recalled going to the basement at ESSMC’s old Monroeville location and playing on the leg press.

“When it came time to make our career decisions, it seemed very natural,” she said. “For me, it’s the connection you make with someone while you’re part of their healing journey. Whether it’s pain, dizziness, balance issues, they come to you with a problem and you try to make a positive impact on their lives.”

Reynolds’ husband, Neil, also is an ESSMC employee, working alongside her at the company’s Penn Hills office.

Tardio said a sizable number of ESSMC’s staff live in the communities where they work.

“As someone who grew up in Plum and works in our Plum office, it’s really important to me to take care of the people in my community,” he said. “Whether it’s former teachers, friends’ parents, I try to give back to the community that gave me so much.”

Drew Karpen, Plum’s athletic director, said the district’s relationship with ESSMC has been great.

“It’s so important to have athletic trainers you can trust, and that’s exactly what we’ve got this year with our trainers,” Karpen said. “They’re probably here more than me because they’re at practices and games. It’s been a great relationship.”

Bonaroti said the strong connection to the community has helped ESSMC thrive despite the transformation of Pittsburgh into a hub for health care.

“With a lot of the health care services people have to obtain, it can be very impersonal,” he said. “But with physical therapy, it’s already personal because we’re physically laying hands on you. I always ask people how they came to choose our practice, and you hear people say things like, ‘I brought my mother in here 25 years ago and you guys were great,’ and it’s wonderful that people remember that experience.”

He said ESSMC’s longevity and focus on its customers has been the key to its success.

“People know us,” he said. “At this point, we’re taking care of the third generation of patients I worked with in the ’80s.”