February 25, 2021
Mountain Shadows Foundation Welcomes New Board Member Ruth Hill
by Sheryl Wilde
“I’ve always had a heart for the disadvantaged, for people who don’t have a voice,” says Ruth Hill, RN, BSN, PHN, and retired RN Health Care Coordinator for Mountain Shadows Community Homes in Riverside. “That’s where my heart is.”
Ruth’s heart-calling led her to Mountain Shadows in 1994. Her more than 20-year career culminated in the role of RN Health Coordinator for MSCH – Riverside.
As RN Health Coordinator, Ruth was dedicated to providing the highest level of care to our Mountain Shadows residents. Her most cherished memories stem from her work with the residents, and the relationships she developed with them.
“The residents roused very strong emotions in me. No matter how bad of a day I had, one of the residents would always do something that would make me say, ‘That’s why I’m at work today.’”
While she helped many of our residents over the years, one young man especially touched her heart.
“He was moved into Mountain Shadows because his mother couldn’t care for him. He was diagnosed with spina bifida and extreme obesity. He was five-years-old and weighed over 125 pounds. He couldn’t even spell his name. It was obvious he had been neglected.
“We instituted a weight-loss program and worked with him for two years. We helped him learn, helped him with his school work, took him to Mountain Shadows picnics and more. He caught onto things so quickly when given the attention he deserved.
“By the time he left Mountain Shadows, he had dropped 40% of his weight and he was performing up to grade level in school! The positive changes were totally due to the environment we provided.
“He became a much happier, healthier boy and he was adopted by a loving family.”
In addition to caring for our residents, Ruth was responsible for staff development and training. She created and launched new programs for ICF/DD-N attendant training, medication certification, as well as in-services. “I always enjoyed teaching. I always challenged the staff to learn more, to improve, to do everything better.
“Working with the staff was fulfilling. Many of the staff came to Mountain Shadows not sure of themselves. I felt a responsibility to help empower them so they could control their own lives. I instilled a sense of serving, of working as a team.”
In continuing her heart-based work, Ruth recently helped found the Moreno Valley Women’s Health Center. “Our mission is to reach out to women and families experiencing unplanned pregnancies. Those we help may be unemployed, or low income, and often have no family support. They are in crisis. They feel paralyzed. We help with counseling, obtaining insurance, parenting education, and other services.”
Ruth is also a member of the Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church’s Quilters group. The group creates lovingly stitched quilts for world-relief organizations. “Our quilts have gone to areas devastated by tsunami’s and drought. Our quilts have been sent to Sudan and Sri Lanka, and have been used in refugee camps after major disasters so people don’t have to sit on the dirt. The quilts bring warmth and comfort.”
Ruth’s passion for ministering to the disadvantaged, the lost, the forgotten, was sparked, in part, by the treatment she witnessed her developmentally disabled aunt receive when she was growing up.
“My aunt was born at a time when the disabled were put into institutions. I visited her there many times. She was non-verbal and deaf. She lived with thirty other women in a dorm-type setting. They all had the same steel locker. They all wore the same dresses. They all wore the same shoes. It was very sad. There was no individuality.
“When my aunt was 40-years-old, she was moved into another home where she was encouraged to develop tastes and interests of her own.
“She died several years ago. She was 85-years-old. Even though she was 40-years-old before she moved out of the state institution, during the second half of her life, she was able to grow and live a fuller life. And she was able to pick her own shoes.
“My work at Mountain Shadows has been fulfilling. Mountain Shadows is one of the best places for people with developmental disabilities to be living. The organization speaks up and advocates for them. They look beyond the residents’ physical needs, to meet their emotional needs too.
“My hope is to bring a personal dimension to the Board, a perspective from the trenches. I’ve interacted with, and know, the residents and staff. I know their day-to-day needs.”
While Ruth’s life work has been rewarding, she admits her eight-year-old grandson, William is the light of her life. He is her only grandchild.
“He and I have talked about special needs individuals. He hadn’t been exposed to people with special needs, so we went to Mountain Shadows for a play date. They built Legos. They spent the afternoon together doing that.
“He didn’t look at them as different. He knew they couldn’t use their hands, so he was there to help them build.”
We welcome Ruth Hill to the Mountain Shadows Foundation Board!