Paul G. Vidal | Al Guarini | Peter Caldiero | Michele Zappile-Lucis | Mary O’Reilly | Joan Baehr | Darren Lucis |
Melissa Benedetti
Meet Our Staff
Paul G. Vidal, DPT, MHSc, OCS, FAAOMPT
Paul is the owner and a licensed physical therapist with Specialized Physical Therapy, LLC. He is graduate of the University of Sciences in Philadelphia (USIP) and the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) where he earned his doctorate in physical therapy. He is a board certified orthopedic clinical specialist through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties and is a Fellow in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists. He earned his manual therapy certification and has received extensive training with one of the world’s most respected manual physical therapist, Dr. Stanley Paris. For the first ten years of his career, Paul specialized in vestibular rehabilitation at the Mercy Hearing and Balance Center located at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in the greater Philadelphia area.
Paul specializes in manual physical therapy examination and treatment of spinal disorders (eg: low back pain, herniated disc, facet joint dysfunction, sacroiliac joint dysfunction) and in vestibular rehabilitation, treating patients with inner-ear related disorders (eg: benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, vestibular neuritis/labrynthitis).
Paul holds adjunct faculty positions with USIP and USAHS teaching general orthopedics, manual physical therapy, vestibular rehabilitation, and medical screening. Paul has published several peer-review articles on the topic of dizziness and often presents at state and national conferences.
Al Guarini, PT, DPT
Al is a graduate of the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia in 2004 with a Master’s of Physical Therapy and is also a graduate of Temple University in 2007 with a Doctorate of Physical Therapy. He has been practicing physical therapy for almost five years in a variety of settings within the Mercy Health System, located in Darby, PA. Most of his experiences are in the outpatient physical therapy setting involving general orthopedic conditions. Al has also been practicing outpatient wound care for approximately 3 years and has attended several accredited continuing educational courses in the management of chronic, diabetic and vascular related wounds. He is the current clinical coordinator at the Mercy Physical Therapy Center for the Uninsured, located in the southwest Philadelphia region, where he manages clinical operations and mentors physical therapy students 1-2 nights a week. Al has experience as an adjunct lab instructor for the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and is currently taking courses towards obtaining a manual physical therapy certification, expected to be completed by early 2010.
Peter Caldiero, PT, DPT
Peter received his doctorate in physical therapy from Temple University. He has extensive experience treating patients in the comfort of their own home. Peter provides in-office and in-home care (see in-home care) for Specialized Physical Therapy. From general deconditioning due to illness or disease to post-operative orthopedic rehabilitation, Peter helps patients restore their functional ability to improve their quality of life.
Michele Zappile-Lucis, PT, DPT, OCS
Michele received her doctorate in physical therapy from Temple University. She is a board certified orthopedic clinical specialist through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. Michele has been practicing physical therapy for over 13 years and specializes in the examination and treatment of the ankle and foot. Currently, Michele is the director of outpatient rehabilitation for Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby, Pennsylvania. At Specialized Physical Therapy, Michele performs biomechanical foot examinations and customized orthotic fittings. (see orthotics)
Mary O’Reilly
Mary has been with Specialized Physical Therapy from the beginning. Mary is one of our administrative staff, serving as a frontdesk receptionist and scheduler. She is also our insurance officer, verifying patient benefit levels, authorizations, and following-up on accounts receivable.
Joan Baehr
Joan joins Specialized Physical Therapy after serving as an office manager for a now retired physician. At Specialized Physical Therapy, Joan serves as our billing officer, inputting charges and sending claims to insurance companies. Joan also assists in following up on accounts receivable.
Darren has been with Specialized Physical Therapy for two years. Darren serves as our marketing and public relations officer, making sure referral sources are satisfied with our services and fields any questions, concerns, or comments from them. Darren is also responsible for growing our physician referral sources. Darren assists in marketing our services to the general public.
