Ruth Ann Kowalski, LMSW
Founder and administrator
A hospital social worker for twenty years, Ruth Ann opened Backbone Creek House in 2006. She still leads every move-in conversation.
Our people
Meet our team
Nurses, caregivers and leaders who stay, and who know every resident by name.
Our team
The people in our story
Gloria Castañeda, RN
Consulting registered nurse
Gloria reviews every resident's health and medications and trains the team in safe care.
Nadia Torres, LVN
Day nurse
Nadia is on site weekdays for vitals, wound checks and questions, and calls families after doctor visits.
Adaeze Okonkwo, CMA
Lead caregiver
Adaeze has led the day team for eleven years and has read every life-story book in the house more than once.
Samir Haddad, CNA
Night caregiver
Samir keeps the house safe and calm overnight and keeps the night notes families read each morning.
Earl Washington
Cook
Earl baked for a Main Street bakery for fifteen years. Saturday kolaches are his, and so is the Sunday pot roast.
Lauren Pierce
Story hour and activities
Lauren runs story hour, the music program and the outings, and helps families build each resident's life-story book.
Dr. Victor Mendel
Visiting physician (sample)
A geriatrician who sees residents at the house monthly, so many appointments never require a drive.
Brother Isaac Mensah
Volunteer chaplain
Brother Isaac visits weekly and on request, and sits with anyone of any faith who would like company.
Sample family reviews
In our families' words
Ruth Ann spent two hours asking about Dad before she asked a single question about his medications. That is when I knew.
Mom was a rodeo secretary in the fifties. Adaeze knows every story, and asks for new ones every morning.
The life-story book they made for Grandpa is now a family treasure. We have copies for all the grandkids.
Dad gets anxious in the evening. They play Glenn Miller and walk him to the creek, because his book says that is what calms him.
Saturday kolaches. That is all I will say.
Nadia called me after the cardiologist visit with a full summary before I had left work.
My parents share the companion suite. They sit on the creek porch every afternoon and hold hands like teenagers.
When Mom went on hospice, the whole house read her favorite psalm with her. Every caregiver knew which one.
Fourteen residents means the people who care for her truly know her. You can feel it in the way they talk to her.
We drove the whole Highland Lakes looking for the right place. This was the only one that asked who she was before what she needed.
Come tell us their story.
A tour takes about an hour and ends at the kitchen table with coffee. Call or text Ruth Ann, or choose a time below.