George Hoffman can only speculate about how a new ownership group will run his former business, Scottdale Rehabilitation.
But he’s pretty sure about one thing — they won’t be making deals with patients where payment comes in the form of a pie or cake.
“My wife used to make fun of me when I’d bring one home,” said Hoffman. “She’d ask, ‘Now is that a $25 pie or a $35 pie,’ referring to the co-pay.”
This week, Hoffman, 69, of Scottdale was on his way to Florida, where he will spend his retirement after selling his Scottdale practice to regional physical therapy group East Suburban Sports Medicine Center.
The Monroeville-based company, which marked its 40th anniversary in 2024, will expand its footprint deeper into Westmoreland County through the purchase of Hoffman’s business.
“Each of these situations is unique,” said East Suburban Sports Medicine Center President John Bonaroti. “Part of the decision is geographic, but the bigger piece is the following, the name recognition a practice has, and whether it’s a good fit to bring into our practice as far as personnel, mindset and how a company cares for patients.”
Bonaroti said Scottdale Rehabilitation checked all of those boxes.
“George grew up in Scottdale, spent his life there and he’s contributed to the community,” he said.
Hoffman’s family has been helping patients in Scottdale for nearly a century. His wife and father were both previous owners of the Scottdale Pharmacy, and before that it was Hoffman’s Drug Store.
“I still have the pill roller from the old pharmacy,” Hoffman said.
East Suburban Sports Medicine Center has locations in Monroeville, Murrysville, Allegheny Township, Hempfield, North Huntingdon, Plum, Penn Township and Penn Hills.
“George’s philosophy of putting patients first and doing everything he can for them is all stuff that resonated with us,” Bonaroti said. “That’s a big part of what has made us successful, and we feel like we can step in there and George can, in the words of (lete Pittsburgh Steelers Coach) Chuck Noll, ‘Carry on with his life’s work’ in retirement.”
Hoffman said when he and Bonaroti spoke a few years ago, he wasn’t certain he was quite ready to sell the practice. But subsequent discussions a few years later about purchasing the business, as well as keeping the staff in place, helped convince him to retire after a rewarding 20-year career.
“The thing I like seeing the most is having someone come in, and they’re unable to do something,” he said. “And when they leave, they can do it even better than before their injury.”
Bonaroti is looking forward to the challenges of a new location.
“We’ll have a good opportunity to build on George’s legacy here,” he said.