1996 – Dallas, Texas
Boundless energy and eternal optimism have propelled Ruthanne Wise into a 30 year career of serving the hurt, the sick, the aged and the impaired. No feat is too large. No challenge is unsurpassable Ruthanne’s courage, tenacity and enthusiasm are contagious to those she helps and heals and to those she employs. This approach helped her build Healthtech Rehabilitation into a national company serving those in need of physical or occupational therapy, speech pathology, audiology, social work or psychological services. She began Healthtech in Warrensburg, MO in 1978. It grew to a $20 million corporation with 200 employees who serve more than 300,000 patients in private homes, nursing homes, hospitals and clinics in Jackson, Poplar Bluff, Rolla, St. Louis and Warrensburg, MO, Costa Mesa, CA and Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Texarkana, Texas. Healthtech, headquartered in Dallas, is now one of the top three privately owned rehabilitation companies in the world and is one of the area’s largest woman-owned businesses. With an entrepreneurial flair, Ruthanne developed a long-term therapeutic program for the elderly, which remains the benchmark for elderly rehabilitation services in the nation. She also established seven orthopedic clinics in Jordan at the request of King Hussein and taught at the American University in Beirut. While overseeing the operations of Healthtech, Ruthanne also found time to volunteer. She formed a number of hospital guilds and served as president of the Southern Medical Association Auxiliary and the National Association for Rehabilitation Agencies. She also founded the National Association of the Support for Long-Term Care. She was named Woman Entrepreneur of the Year for the North Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma region. The award was given by Ernst & Young, Merrill Lynch and Inc., magazine.
