Ramona Esquivel
Executive Director
Ramona grew up in Hereford, started here as a weekend receptionist in 1999 and has run the place since 2014. She still takes the Thursday canyon drive when the van is full.
Our people
Meet our team
Nurses, caregivers and leaders who stay, and who know every resident by name.
Our team
The people who run the place
Tasha Greer, RN
Director of Health Services
Tasha spent twelve years on a medical floor in Amarillo before coming to us. She writes every assisted living care plan with the family at the table.
Dr. Aaron Whitlock, MD
Medical Director
A family physician in Canyon for twenty years, Dr. Whitlock rounds on campus every Tuesday and keeps his cell on for our nurses.
Wade Kimbrough
Executive Chef
Wade cooked at a steakhouse in Amarillo for a decade. He makes the chicken-fried steak on Sundays and a green chile stew residents ask for by name.
Mateo Ruiz, DPT
Therapy & Wellness Director
Mateo runs our therapy gym and the tai chi class on the lawn. His goal for every resident is the same: keep walking to supper on your own.
Lorena Pruitt
Life Enrichment Director
Lorena books the canyon trips, the university lectures and the Friday fiddle band. She keeps a waiting list for the musical tickets.
Rev. Darnell Oakes
Chaplain
Pastor Oakes leads Sunday chapel, visits every new resident in their first week and sits with families when the news is hard.
Jenna Whitfield, LMSW
Social Worker
Jenna untangles Medicaid applications, VA paperwork and long-term care insurance claims. She also runs the caregiver support group.
Hollis Reyna, LVN
Memory Care Coordinator
Hollis has led the Mesquite House since it opened in 2012. She knows which residents like the radio on and which ones want the window open.
Marisol Tate
Move-in Coordinator
Marisol gives most of our tours and handles every move from the first phone call to the first Sunday supper.
Grace Liu
Campus Director, Amarillo
Grace opened our Amarillo campus in 2009. Before that she managed a hospital discharge unit and saw how hard the next step can be for families.
Lyle Sanderford
Director of Facilities
Lyle keeps forty acres, three pools and eleven golf carts running, and he has fixed more walkers than anyone in Randall County.
Sample family reviews
Folks who know us best
Daddy farmed outside Happy for fifty years. We thought he'd hate town. Turns out he just needed a garden bed, a woodshop and four other old farmers to argue about rain with.
When Mom's memory started slipping, she moved from her casita to the Mesquite House without leaving the campus. Same chapel, same chaplain, same Sunday lunch. That mattered more than I can say.
I taught history at the university for thirty-one years. Now I give a talk in the Commons once a month and the questions are better than my students' ever were.
Tasha called me before I could even worry. Dad had a fall, she'd already talked to Dr. Whitlock, and she had a plan written up by the time I got there from Lubbock.
We sold the place in Vega and kept the pickup. I drive it out to the canyon twice a month with whoever wants to come. Usually it's a full cab.
My mother is a picky eater and a former home-economics teacher. She has approved of Wade's pie crust. In our family that's the highest honor there is.
The respite week let us go to our grandson's wedding in Denver. Dad called it his vacation and asked when he could go back.
I came to Hereford campus after my hip. The therapy gym got me walking, and the ladies at my table got me laughing. I stayed.
Jenna sat with us for two hours going through Mom's VA benefits. We had no idea she qualified for Aid and Attendance.
Every Christmas they light up the whole circle drive. Our grandkids think it's the best show in Canyon, and they might be right.
I visit at odd hours because of my shifts. I have never once walked in and found Mom alone and unhappy. Not once.
They let my dog move in with me. Biscuit has more friends here than I do, and I have plenty.
Come for Sunday lunch. Stay for the sunset.
Call or text Marisol to set a time, or pick one online. Bring the whole family; the chicken-fried steak is worth the drive from Lubbock.