Oak Harbor center offers daytime care for dementia, Alzheimer’s patients

For Island County families trying to keep a parent or spouse with dementia at home, daytime can be the hardest stretch of the day. Our Hearts Together, on the second floor of Midway Trader’s Village in Oak Harbor, now gives those families a place where a loved one can spend the day under supervision while caregivers get hours back for work, errands, rest or simply a quiet room.

The center opened about two weeks before April 24 and can serve up to 12 participants. Inside, the setting is deliberately warm and familiar. A retro red refrigerator, Marilyn Monroe on the wall and giant KerPlunk are not just decorations. They are part of a plan to build comfort, routine and connection for people living with memory loss through activities, games, art, music and personal attention from staff who know them as friends, not anonymous clients.

Kayla Wood said the mission is personal to her because her grandfather lived with dementia. She said a local day center helped him once his daughter began taking him there. That kind of support matters for families whose days can otherwise revolve around fall risks, medication timing, agitation and the strain of trying to stay calm while never fully letting their guard down.

Executive Director Kathie Rivas brings 42 years of caregiving experience to the work, along with a fourth-generation family background in care. Rivas also manages Heartsong Homecare Cooperative in Anacortes, and Our Hearts Together is part of that cooperative. She has framed the center’s purpose around creating a predictable rhythm that supports memory and well-being, while giving caregivers the short-term relief they need to keep going.

That need is easy to understand in Island County, where 28.3% of residents are 65 and older. The Washington State Department of Health says Alzheimer’s disease is a leading cause of death in Washington, and the Alzheimer’s Association says more than 126,000 people in the state are living with Alzheimer’s while 247,000 caregivers provide 378 million hours of unpaid care. Washington State Department of Social and Health Services defines respite care as planned short-term relief for caregivers, and notes that adult day centers can provide it.

On Whidbey Island, where specialized memory care often means traveling off-island, a small center in Oak Harbor fills a gap that has long been felt in daily life. Oak Harbor Library added memory care kits in March after receiving a Puget Sound Energy grant, another sign that local institutions are trying to meet the same need. For families trying to keep loved ones home longer, Our Hearts Together offers something simple and hard to find: a safe place to spend the day, and a little breathing room for everyone else.