RUTH-E BENNISON has responded to every opportunity presented to her both professionally and personally. At a time when most women her age were homemakers, Ruth-e was blazing new trails in a man’s world. With a Master’s in Accounting, Ruth-e worked for the owner of 13 radio and TV stations. Married in 1956, she moved to California and opened her own travel agency making ten trips around the world to 82 countries organizing conventions. Seventeen years ago, during her mother’s stay in a skilled nursing facility, Ruth-e kept a diary of the daily care provided there. Her notes were key testimony supporting a bill adopted as the theft and loss law in long-term care facilities. Since her mother’s death, Ruth-e has developed a whole new career. These past 17 years she has dedicated over 15,000 hours of service to the Ombudsman Program in San Mateo County. Today she serves as volunteer MediCal expert. In addition, she has volunteered 5,200 hours in the HICAP (Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program). For her amazing skills and ability to recover millions of misspent Medicare dollars, Ruth-e was honored by the US Department of Health & Human Services in Washington, DC in 1999 as well as receiving the HICAP Excellence Award, September 2002. Jackie Speier and the County of San Mateo also recognized Ruth-e for her amazing work.
