Two years ago, Magnolia Assisted Living's management ran into problems with paying their bills. This got the attention of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, who were the title holders of the property.
"HUD was the insurance for the mortgage company," said Rickey Riebesell, managing agent of The Magnolia and owner of Riebe Investments. the company that has taken over management of the facility. "We don't own Magnolia, we just manage the property. I was appointed to manage the place August of 2017. By agreement with HUD and previous owners, my company took over management."
Riebesell said the owners at that time were not making payments on the mortgage - one of several issues the facility was dealing with at the time.
The case is now in the hands of U.S. Attorney's Office in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas.
During that time, the resident population had fallen from 28 to 10, in a facility with a maximum capacity for 40," Riebesell said. "Plus, they had staffing issues. There was problems with deferred maintenance. Previous management was unable to get a grip on these issues."
Riebesell is not new to operating an assisted living facility. He owns and operates the Retreat at Kenwood.
"It has a good operational record," he said. "This is an industry that is tightly regulated and monitored."
In the two years since Riebesell has taken over management of Magnolia, he has addressed the previous issues.
"We established local supervision, to make sure any issues got proper attention," he said. "We properly staffed the property. The deferred maintenance issues, which weren't serious, were dealt with. And here's the thing. We managed to turn around Magnolia in two years. The facility is great."
He said "exceptional" care is now being provided to the residents.
"We have the staff we need and maintenance is normal, ongoing and routine," he said. "The place is working like it is supposed to and the bills are being paid."
Riebesell said there are certain key element that have to be done to ensure a facility likes this runs smoothly.
"You need good, attentive management," he said. "You have to know what is going on and you have to have a willingness to change course when circumstances warrant. My willingness to make sure we give whatever care is needed is the key as to why this place is now successful. I've got good key personnel who are good at what they do and we get things done."