Sherman Care Center residents relocated to Whitesboro Health and Rehab Center

Last week’s flooding displaced hundreds of people from their homes in Grayson and Cooke counties. Among those people displaced were 19 men and women who were evacuated from Mission Oaks Care Center in Sherman. These residents were relocated to Whitesboro Health and Rehabilitation Center after a long and frightening day, weathering the storm.

Residents awoke to the sound of torrential rain, but continued about their day as usual. Many of the residents went to the dinning hall where they waited for breakfast. Some of the residents like Jerry Bailey were unable to sleep through the night because of the high winds and pelting rains. “That night I didn’t feel safe,” Bailey said.

The wind and water was so powerful that it broke the glass in the door at the end of the hall that ran parallel to the creek near the center. “It sounded like a shotgun,” Bailey said. At that point, water began to fill the lobby very quickly.

At about 8 a.m. a few residents, like Molly Blanton, were still sleeping when water began to fill the lower parts of the center. “I jumped up and put on my tennis shoes,” said Blanton. She stepped down onto the floor in ankle deep water. “It was horrible, we got up and everything was flooded,” said Jessie Ramsey, Mission Oaks resident.

Residents were moved to a slightly higher part of the facility, which was up a ramp where the sixth hall was located. Then they were left with nothing to do but wait for rescue workers. It was very frightening for the residents. “[E]verything got chaotic, there was no organization or anything,” Blanton said. “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through.”

Residents crowded into the hall awaiting rescue as the water continued to rise. It eventually began to reach their ankles even in the higher area of the center and was waist deep in the lobby area.

When rescue workers were able to begin evacuations of the facility they were forced to take the residents through the high water. “We had to go through the lobby it was full of water,” Bailey said.

“It was hard to wade through with a walker. There were chairs that had fallen down,” said Eva Estes another Mission Oaks resident.

“They had to pull me out underwater,” said Bailey. He and several other residents who use wheelchairs for mobility were actually submerged in the water as rescue workers pushed them out of the center. Workers gave them oxygen masks, which allowed them to breathe while they were underwater.

Workers evacuated all 105 residents from the facility safely and took them to Wilson N. Jones Medical Center in Sherman. “They were working as hard as they could to get us out,” Bailey said. Residents were then able to get into dry clothes and relax in a place where they felt safe. “I slept like a log when I got there,” said Charlie Vent, Mission Oaks resident.

On Tuesday morning, administrators from near-by senior care centers were asked to come and evaluate the evacuated residents in order to provide centers for them to relocate to. Administrators completed the appropriate paper work and called the families to get permission to relocate the residents.

Residents arrived with very little. “They came with just what they had on,” said Sue Allen, Whitesboro Health and Rehabilitation Center Administrator. “We've been able to give them some outfits of clothing from donations and we've also bought some things.”

The relocated residents are now comfortable in the Whitesboro center where they are overflowing with gratitude. “I didn’t have a pair of pants or a shirt or anything. These people helped me out. They really care,” Bailey said.

Mission Oaks administrators have set up an office at Wilson N. Jones for families and residents to call if they have any questions. They are working to return the salvageable clothing and electronics of the residents. “They've taken all the clothes that could be saved to be cleaned and the electronics have been taken to be tested,” said Linda King, Mission Oaks Director of Nursing.

Administrators are pushing to have Mission Oaks reopened in three months. However, the 19 residents at Whitesboro Health and Rehabilitation Center are not concerned with when Mission Oaks will reopen, many say they do not plan to return. They are happy passing their time playing bingo and exploring their new home, even if it is only temporary.

And residents can’t stop complementing and thanking its staff. “I'd just like to say that the people that are here are the greatest people,” Blanton said tearfully.