After graduating from college in 1994, Rootenberg, who had played baseball since childhood, was about to be signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies. His timing was not good. Almost immediately, players went on strike and Major League Baseball froze all signings, including Rootenberg’s.

Reared by a mother whose professor husband had died suddenly, leaving her to support their three children on her teacher’s salary, Rootenberg was a dreamer who became a pragmatist. “I got the call at 10am from Touro, which had initially waitlisted me—a student didn’t show up for the first class, so they offered me the spot—I made an instant decision. Touro was giving me the chance to start a different dream and I was going to grab it.”

In 1999, Rootenberg and fellow Touro physical therapy program graduate David Endres co-founded the Spear Physical Therapy Center. Today there are now an impressive 50 offices in the New York Metropolitan area. Spear employs over 800 therapists and staff and has racked up dozens of prestigious awards, among them: Top Physical Therapy Practice in the nation (twice)—once by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and once by WebPT’s Ascend Practice of the Year Award for exceptional business results; Inc. Magazine’s 5000 list of fastest growing companies (several times including 2024); twice winning Columbia University’s Award for Leadership in Clinical Education; and National Practice of the Year by the American Physical Therapy Association. “All the success would have been impossible without Touro taking that chance on me,” Rootenberg says. “It’s time to show my gratitude in a concrete way.”

Called The Spear Scholarship, Rootenberg is donating $360,000 over three years to his alma mater, the School of Health Sciences. Each year, the money will allow 12 students, many of whom are “underserved and underrepresented in the field, to become physical therapists,” Rootenberg says. “I know what it’s like to do work I love, and I want to provide that opportunity to future physical therapists.” Program participants will also complete one clinical rotation at Spear and will be offered post-graduation employment. 

Rootenberg, who lives with his wife and three children on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, holds leadership webinars and is invited to speak routinely on panels nationwide. He is in demand both as a physical therapist with heart and as a healthcare specialist with a keen head for business.

When the pandemic slammed New York City in 2020, businesses were laying off employees and giving up building spaces. Rootenberg did the opposite. Like everyone else, Spear offered Telehealth appointments, but Rootenberg refused to furlough a single therapist. “It was a fearful time for everyone, and people were handing back their keys to landlords and running for cover,” recalls Rootenberg, 51. “We were signing new leases, betting on the fact that you should never bet against New York City. We signed four new leases and we never walked away from a single office.”

The secret ingredient was communication and continuity in a time of crisis. “I’m not overstating when I say our therapists were heroic on behalf of our patients,” he says. “Everyone on our team stuck it out and remained dedicated to those who needed them.”

Rootenberg  also used that time to help other physical therapy businesses by hosting webinars for the APTA and other organizations. His topics included everything from how to stay in business to how to handle the pandemic and loans from the government’s Paycheck Protection Program. Rootenberg received the APTA’s Board of Directors Service Award for volunteers who have dedicated significant time leading, serving and advancing the profession.

As it celebrates a quarter-century in business, Spear boasts close to three times as many physical and occupational therapists in greater New York City than their nearest competitor.

Rootenberg, meanwhile, has happily moved on from the dream of playing professional baseball to being just another ardent dad-fan, watching from the bleachers as his three children participate in their own sports and interests. “I’ve become an avid tennis player,” says Rootenberg, who adds, ruefully: “So avid, that I’m seeing a physical therapist for tennis elbow.”