Reba’s Ranch House is following and observing federal, state, and local regulations for healthcare housing facilities. Our stringent policies are updated frequently and they include:
Coverin’ Up the Cowboy Way
ALL in the House are required to wear cloth face coverings when in contact with guests or other staff.
Keepin’ Clean
Lather Up! Please wash your hands frequently. Hand sanitizer is available for Team Members and all guests to use throughout the day.
Our Team Members are also:
Increasing handwashing, disinfecting and deep cleaning procedures to help assure a safe environment.
Increasing the frequency of cleaning and sanitizing using cleaners that are listed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website of disinfectants for use against COVID-19.
Giving Space
We ask all in the House to please give six feet of space or more to those around them.
We also are operating with as few staff as is necessary to meet and exceed guest expectations for a great stay!
The dining room tables are six feet apart.
We will continue to monitor and implement new policies from the CDC recommendations and the World Health Organization as we learn more.
Signs, signs … everywhere are signs
The staff at Reba’s Ranch House has had several clever cowboy-themed signs created to remind staff, guests and any visitors of the policies and best practices for staying healthy during COVID-19.
Reba’s Ranch House, the only named charity of Reba McEntire, is open to anyone who needs a place to stay when you have a loved one in the hospital. Watch Reba talk about the purpose of Reba’s Ranch House and how it helps care for the caregivers. In the video, Reba also opens up about how lucky she feels she is to have fans who always send her gifts, and says that the best gift she could receive is for a fan to make a donation to Reba’s Ranch House.
We recently made donations easier
We’ve recently streamlined our donation process, making online donations with a credit card simple and quick. Every donation is noted, appreciated and put to good use for others. You even can choose to honor a friend or loved one by making the donation in their name. Donations of any and all amounts are allowed and appreciated!
Reba’s Heroes: A Series Highlighting Our Wonderful Volunteers
Due to COVID19, we had to cancel our annual volunteer luncheon that we hold to honor our amazing volunteers! In our effort to cover the many aspects of volunteering at Reba’s Ranch House we found a plethora of wonderful stories. In the coming months, we will cover the many ways to volunteer at Reba’s Ranch House. Read some of our 28 years worth of stories and see if you are visualizing yourself joining these beautiful souls giving their time and love to those who need it. Remember: Studies show that volunteers stay healthier, are more active, and live longer with more productive lives. We are here and would love to talk to you about volunteering and we always need a volunteer somewhere!
Thank you so much for reading our stories and going through this unexpected year holding us close to your heart. Thank you, Thank you! We are here and will continue to be here while we find our new normal!
May the Lord bless you, and hold you close to His heart.
Reba’s Ranch House Director Marilyn Bice
A special place for those with cancer
A few years ago, a local Girl Scout saw that people battling cancer would benefit from additional support for certain items, such as wigs, prosthetics, books, blankets and more. She connected with Reba’s Ranch House to propose the concept of a “Room for Hope.” Reba McEntire loved the idea, and today an entire room at Reba’s Ranch House is dedicated to supporting women and men who have cancer by providing these items free of charge. Painted on the wall of this small beige room tucked into one corner of Reba’s Ranch House are the words, “Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful.” The volunteers in that room often bring an understanding unique to those who have faced the same battle … .
Thank You, Room for Hope Volunteer Carol Brownlee:
“I began volunteering in 2016 after I retired from a successful career at Caterpillar. It was helpful to keep structure in my life, and volunteering fit that bill. I chose RRH since I had been a cancer survivor and knew they had the Room For Hope. I had also been a supporter and donated to their fundraising efforts with the ‘500 Strong.’ Additionally, RRH has a support group for breast cancer survivors of which I participated in.
“One of my fondest memories was the successful opportunity to raise funds for RRH exceeding $4,000 by helping organize a Cowgirl Prom with a national organization (Sisters on the Fly) that has over 15,000 members. Proceeds from that event went to the Room For Hope. Another memory is donating garden totems that brought in over $1,200 for the Room For Hope. While the monetary amounts seem small when you have an organization like RRH, it gave me a sense of gratification. The staff at RRH encouraged me to succeed.” —Carol Brownlee
Thank You, Room for Hope Volunteer Darla Wakefield:
“Being a breast cancer survivor, I wanted to help others going through a similar journey. Also, I wanted it to be a local opportunity.” —Darla Wakefield
Thank You, Room for Hope Volunteer Virginia Eldridge:
“As a breast cancer survivor, I chose RRH because 15 years ago, when there was nothing local for cancer patients. I drove to Dallas to attend a support group.
“I love RRH because I know what it’s like to not have a place to stay and sleep in a car when a loved one is in the hospital. My favorite memories are talking to the people who are staying at RRH and hearing their stories when we meet on Thursday evenings for a cancer support group. We listen to them and offer food. They are so thankful they have a place to stay.” —Virginia Eldridge
Want to make a donation to Reba’s Ranch House?
We have streamlined our donation process, making it easier for you to quickly make a donation by credit card to Reba’s Ranch House.
Cheryl Ginnings jumped out of her chair, shocked that her 47-year-old son had spoken to her from his hospital bed. Cheryl had just returned from the hall where she’d gone out to cry, not knowing if Blake would survive this latest challenge. Almost non-verbal all his life, his words were a small, miraculous moment to hold in her mother’s heart.
A Lifetime of Care
Blake was oxygen-deprived at birth, leading to multiple health issues. He eventually was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and epileptic seizures. Several times, Cheryl and her husband, Monte, were told they should put Blake away in an institution and forget they had a son. They rejected that idea, and being his caregiver became their mission in life, along with raising their two girls.
When it reached a point they could no longer lift Blake, they sought a facility where he could live. After several traumatic experiences at institutions, they were finally directed to a sweet family in Denison, Texas. Though a fair drive from where Cheryl and Monte live in Lawton, Oklahoma, they knew Jason and Cassi Sheppard and their children were the right fit for Blake. Cheryl and Monte FaceTime with Blake and the Sheppards, and spend in-person quality time often. The two families are connected forever through Blake.
“We didn’t even know to pray for something like that,” Cheryl says. “You look through the dark things that happen in life, and see how God answers prayers, how the providence of God is always there.”
Cheryl intimately knows what caregivers go through. One of her books, “It Takes Courage To Be A Caregiver,” is a collection of stories, insight, and tips from three years worth of radio interviews she did with courageous caregivers. As the founder and CEO of Cheryl Ginnings Consulting, she uses her years of personal experience to shed light on the trials of families of children with special needs.
Comfort and Care Amid Fear
In 2017, Blake needed a feeding tube inserted, but the one-day surgery turned into a terrifying ten-week ordeal when the surgeon discovered that Blake’s heart and stomach were attached. A cascade of trauma began.
During these terrifying days, Blake asked Cheryl, “Mom, you okay?”
He knew she was distressed. On top of the fear of losing their son, Cheryl and Monte were exhausted, and funds were rapidly dwindling from the expense of being near Blake — 200 miles from their home.
In the midst of that time, they discovered Reba’s Ranch House.
“We never dreamed of anything that wonderful,” Cheryl says of their stay at Reba’s Ranch House. “It was like going home to a family that cared about what happened in your day, and having a place to lay down when you needed to, and then get up and go back to the hospital. My husband and I could take turns. And then to be able to meet so many wonderful people that care about the needs of those like us. The people that work there would ask every time we walked in or out, ‘How is your son?’ and would listen to us, which is what you need. You need somebody that cares about you during that time.”
Mom and Son are Okay
Ten weeks and three different hospitals later, Blake recovered from his harrowing ordeal. He returned home with Jason and Cassie. Cheryl and Monte went back to Lawton, and will always remember the impact Reba’s Ranch House had on their family.
For a time, Cheryl had someone to care for her as the caregiver. In those moments, Blake — Mom was okay.
She could see the window of her husband’s hospital room
From her room at Reba’s Ranch House, Angela Farmer could see the window of her husband’s hospital room. Despite them both being in isolation because of the COVID-19 quarantine, she could stay connected with Alan, her husband of 16 years, through the closeness of Reba’s Ranch House. Even from another building, Angela watched over her husband, able to see his room that held him safe.
The ranch house has remained in continual operation, 24×7, 365 days of the year, since its opening in 1992. Round the clock, round the year, and through a major global crisis, caregivers still need a comfortable place to stay and loving care while they watch over their loved ones.
Connected by video chat
After pneumonia, contracting the flu, and experiencing severe low oxygen, Alan remained in isolation at the hospital. It was a long, long two weeks for them.
But through the power of technology, Angela was able to video chat with him. He reacted by blinking his eyes and moving his head. Angela knew he recognized her voice.
Prayers from Peru
“Everybody has been praying,” Angela said. “I have a big crew of people praying for him. I have family praying in Peru, I had three groups on my phone and messenger. Prayer is the best weapon you can have for anything. If things turn out bad, God knows why and then gives you strength to keep going. I’m a living witness of how the Lord acts.”
Angela met her husband years ago through the Internet. She came from Peru to marry him.
“Before I met Alan, I prayed for him,” she said. “I prayed for the Lord to give me somebody that would love me, and He brought me Alan. Now we have this test, and the Lord is still with us.”
It was during a recent time of Angela’s family visiting from Peru that Alan experienced a turn in his health. They were all traveling in Oklahoma when the discomfort in his chest began.
A series of procedures, expert care at the hospital, and the love of his wife stabilized Alan and put him on the road to recovery.
“If I had been in Corsicana [instead of staying at Reba’s Ranch House], I don’t think my husband would have made it,” Angela said. With the ranch house remaining open, she had a stable place to stay as things around her, and the world, changed.
Giving Back
After an extended stay at Reba’s Ranch House, an essential service that remains open through the COVID-19 crisis to take in caregivers, Angela returned to Corsicana, Texas, while her husband finishes therapy and prepares for release. She works at a candy company and plans to bring a batch of chocolates to everyone who helped during their trying circumstances.
“All the staff in this house and in the hospital, they’re the best,” Angela said. “They treated me like one more member of the family, and I appreciate everybody. I couldn’t have been in a better place. People need to help places like this. When all this is over, I’m going to start donating [to Reba’s Ranch House] because it could help another person like me.”
When a mother is told she’s being discharged from the hospital before her newborn baby, fear sets in. How will she bond with her baby if she lives an hour away? How can she afford to stay in a hotel for potentially months until her baby is ready to come home?
Mothers of high-risk babies face this situation at Texoma Medical Center in the new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). But the NICU partners with Reba’s Ranch House to sit down with a family and explain the option of staying at the ranch house within sight of the hospital.
“They need a place to stay so they can be close to their sweet little baby,” says Angela Yancey (MSN, BSN, RNC-OB). She is the Director of Women’s and Children’s Services at Texoma Medical Center. Her role covers the NICU, the newborn nursery, labor and delivery, postpartum, and pediatrics.
A special time for bonding
“It’s super important for a mom to spend time with her preterm baby while it’s in the NICU,” Angela says. “It really promotes bonding, breastfeeding specifically. Even if the baby is too small to latch on the mom, it’s very important for a mom to be at the bedside. Studies have shown that a mom who pumps while even looking at her baby is able to produce more breast milk.”
Sometimes, mothers pump in the privacy of their room at Reba’s Ranch House. There is a special refrigerator at the house to safely store the milk until feeding time. As the only NICU in the area, they have an agreement with surrounding facilities.
“We’re excited to offer the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to North Texas,” Angela says. “We are the closest Level II NICU within an hour and a half north and 45 minutes south. If a baby is delivered at any facility in the surrounding area, they can come here. We have that same arrangement with OU. If they have a transfer that can come to us, maybe because the family lives in Durant, Oklahoma, they will bring that baby to us.”
This allows the mother and a support person to stay at Reba’s Ranch House until her baby is discharged. According to Tracy Anderson, who is over Transports at OU, Reba McEntire donated funds to OU to set up a staff chair for the NICU department. She was pleased with the connection for the babies.
“Having a baby in the NICU is a period of great stress for families and mothers, so it’s really nice that Reba’s Ranch House can alleviate one of the stresses,” Angela says. “I’ve had patients literally start crying when we told them there was the option of Reba’s Ranch House. Some of our moms live an hour away and would have to commute otherwise. This is already such a traumatic time for them. We try to do everything ourselves, setting it up so they just have to go across the parking lot and be able to come right back to their baby.”
Sitting in a hospital waiting room chair for hours and hours. Legs dangling. Blood circulation cut off. This takes a heavy toll on a caregiver’s body, as was happening to Elisabeth Pacheco and her nieces.
“You don’t realize the impact that has on your body to not lay down or put your feet up,” Elisabeth says.
Brain surgery puts strain on family members
After her sister, Beverly, underwent emergency brain surgery at the hospital, a new phase for the family began. It happened at high speed, yet the hours themselves went by slowly, day by day. Elisabeth, her adult nieces, and their friend stayed the night at a hotel across the highway from the hospital, but it wasn’t something they could afford to continue for an extended period. Driving the hour home and back again every day wasn’t an option, either. Elisabeth tried twice and had no idea how she made it home.
“You don’t realize the stress of what is happening and what a toll that is taking on you emotionally,” she says.
Reba’s Ranch House allows the family to stay near
After learning about Reba’s Ranch House, completing background checks, and getting a room, the family entered a peaceful, home-like atmosphere. With the ranch house just across the parking lot from their hospital, the family was able to easily change shifts with one another in the waiting room or in the room with Beverly. None of them wanted to leave her alone.
“It’s my sister, and I can’t imagine being away from her,” Elisabeth says.
A nice meal makes all the difference
After a few days at Reba’s Ranch House, she told staff member Jeri Carosella she was headed out to find something to eat. Jeri promptly said, “No, you’re not. You’re going to go into the kitchen and dish up your food and have some time to yourself.”
“And I was like, ‘okay!’” Elisabeth recalls with a laugh. “It was the first meal I hadn’t had in the cafeteria in days.”
Throughout their stay, Elisabeth, her nieces, and their friend ate meals provided by local churches. They were able to relax with their feet up on the bed instead of dangling in a waiting room chair.
“I’m a general manager for a hotel,” Elisabeth says, “and I was so impressed with how Reba’s Ranch House is run. It reminds me of my hotel, where people are there and taking care of you. Immediately when you walk into the ranch house, there’s this calming that comes over you.”
Back at home and coping
Elisabeth’s sister is home now, though they have to adjust to new normals with her condition. But their stay at the ranch house gave them the place they needed to pull together as a family.
“Having people who are loving on you and caring about what you’re going through, is just amazing to me,” Elisabeth says.
Hummingbirds, sounds of nature, the peace of a walk outside. Guests at Reba’s Ranch House find places and moments that help them relax during their trying situations. Enjoying the outdoor areas at the house is also a way for Director Marilyn Bice to clear her mind and boost her creative thoughts as she pursues making Reba’s Ranch House a caregiver of the caregiver.
“While working at Austin College, I began working with Michelle Lemming at Texoma Health Foundation, using her expertise in the medical and foundation realm to help some of our Leadership students find the perfect spot for their internship needs,” Marilyn says of the Texoma Health Foundation CEO. “I knew Michelle was a force in these fields and she could really extend the student’s internship experience. We also organized a health fair and I learned how deeply involved the foundation, who also owned Reba’s Ranch House, was in the service world.
Retired, but not really
“After 25 years at Austin College, working in several departments including the Posey Leadership Institute, and Model United Nation Programs, I retired. Four months after retiring I heard the director’s position at Reba’s Ranch House was open. I loved their mission and the opportunity was perfect for my desire to be more involved with helping others, so I applied.”
With Reba’s Ranch House open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, Marilyn’s list of tasks is never lacking. She manages three full-time employees, several interns, numerous volunteers — and folds laundry.
A fully functioning home
“Everything that goes on in your home, goes on here,” she says. “It takes the same amount of effort to keep it all rolling and ready for our guests to meet the next day.”
This creates a home-like atmosphere for guests who sometimes stay for extended periods. They may have a newborn baby in the NICU or are staying close to the side of their terminally ill loved one.
A perpetual need for volunteers
“We try to run a holistic house so that everyone has what they need,” Marilyn says. “Volunteers are very helpful. We need volunteers to sit at the front desk and register people, take care of checking them in and out, and doing tours. We would love to have a volunteer come every other morning and sweep off the sidewalks and make sure the patios look inviting. We need volunteers to just come be there when a guest needs someone to talk to, or if they want to be prayed with.”
This year alone, the house has served people in crisis from four countries and 44 states, hosting an average of 950 guests per year.
“For some of them, it is a total respite from every little bit of responsibility they have,” Marilyn says. “They can actually rest, whether in bed asleep, or sitting in the library reading in front of the fireplace, taking a walk outside, or watching TV in the kitchen — whatever they need to center themselves so they can go back and face the realities of everything going on in their loved one’s life.”
Disconnected. That was how Pam Abasolo felt as she entered the hotel across the highway from her ill husband. Ken was admitted to the hospital near the end of July 2019. Pam and her adult girls, Erin and Hayli, stayed at a hotel across the highway, but given his condition, the hospital staff knew it wouldn’t be long. Once a room was available at Reba’s Ranch House, Pam met staff member Jeri Carosella, and knew they’d found a home to weather this storm.
A room with a nautical theme
They stayed in a room with a nautical theme that related to Lt. Kenneth Abasolo’s 22 years of service as a Navy Seal. Before that, he was decorated for his underwater demolition work in Vietnam. The room is sponsored by Mark and Kris McKinney in honor of Nancy McKinney who helped establish Reba’s Ranch House through her volunteer work.
The ranch house reminded the girls of the early days of Pam and Ken’s 10 years of marriage when he would take them on weekend trips. The home-like atmosphere gave them permission to rest, knowing they were a very short distance from Ken if they got the call.
An opportunity for bonding
“To be able to go to the hospital room and then come back to Reba’s Ranch House, just the three of us, added a layer of serenity and bonding to the situation we could not have had otherwise,” Pam says. “The hotel wasn’t the same; it’s industrial, it doesn’t have that spirit of comfort and peace over it.”
As Pam and her girls endured weeks of angst and turmoil, Jeri was there for them. She shared the story of her husband’s passing the previous year, and prayed for Pam whenever she needed it.
“Jeri was so welcoming, so understanding of our position,” Pam says. “I love people, but there are certain ones that the moment you meet them, you know you’re going to stay in touch, that they are part of your life’s fabric.”
Support when it was needed most
When Ken passed at the hospital in mid-August, it was a heartbreaking time. But Pam and her girls were able to support one another.
“Erin lives in Boise, Idaho, and for her to even be there with us in that beautiful environment and bond even over something like Ken’s death was an experience that couldn’t have been duplicated in a hotel room,” Pam says.
Before leaving Reba’s Ranch House, Pam purchased three pottery mugs for them to remember the time they shared. It was especially meaningful when Pam learned the money went to support the Room for Hope at Reba’s Ranch House. She is a three-year breast cancer survivor.
Pam and Jeri share a bond understood by those who have been through the trauma of losing their husband.
“Jeri struck a chord with all of us,” Pam says. “Meeting her felt like a divine appointment, as did our stay at Reba’s Ranch House.”
That is what young Ben McKinney told teenage Nancy Foreman after they spent two summers in Canada with her teaching him how to sail. He was a teenager himself from Little Rock, Ark., who had taken trips to Canada with family friends. The father of the family told Ben that Nancy was the one to learn from when it came to sailing. She was a water baby, spending most of her time on lakes and oceans in sailboats, canoes, and powerboats.
Ben did indeed marry that sailing girl on June 3, 1944. But their honeymoon was cut short with D-Day on June 6, and Ben was called to ship out. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and in the Korean War.
Married for 68 years
Over the course of their 68 years of marriage, Ben and Nancy had four children, including a son named Mark. Nancy developed a close relationship with a young girl in her neighborhood, Kristine (Kris) who became her dear friend — and daughter-in-law.
“I have known Nancy all my life,” Kris says. “Mark and I married 20 years ago. His mom had fixed us up!”
Founding members from 1987
Nancy and Kris served together on the original development committee that raised money for the foundation that built Reba’s Ranch House of which Kris was the first chairman. They met Reba McEntire during the initial fundraising concert in 1987.
“She was thanking us more than we could thank her,” Kris says. “She was so humble, she’s such a star and such a force. You could tell she had this big heart to help others. It cemented everything about what we were doing.”
Ben passed in 2012, and in 2017, at 96 years old, Nancy’s health rapidly declined. Kris and Mark began thinking of ways to honor her life.
“We decided doing something at the Ranch House where she had worked so hard was a fitting tribute,” Kris says. “She was a role model, always doing things for others, and never met a stranger. What better place for her legacy to be than somewhere that does the exact same thing.”
Honoring Nancy in a unique room
Nancy passed in December 2017, but her presence is still felt in Reba’s Ranch House. The room, with its nautical theme, showcases photos of Nancy and her family doing what she loved — sailing.
“And when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.”
“When our grandkids come to visit us in Denison, they can see the legacy of their great-grandmother,” Kris says. “If you know something about the person beyond their headstone, it makes them come to life.”
Nancy’s hard work continues to bless others. Pam Abasolo, a recent guest, endured the passing of her husband in the hospital in 2019. The nautical room gave Pam and her girls a place to weather one of the worst storms of their lives.
Consider a sponsorship
If you would like to consider sponsoring a room at Reba’s Ranch House, please reach out to director Marilyn Bice at 903-463-7322.
Reba’s Heroes: A Series Highlighting Our Wonderful Volunteers
