Adult Day Center Opens To Serve Needs Of Mililani Elders

An adult day center has opened at the Mililani Hongwanji.

Mililani Hale is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays to serve elders and families.

“There hasn’t been one (adult day care) in the community, and it’s an aging community,” explained Rosanna Evers, director of social services at Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center. “It’s important that people know about it because it’s one of those things that you never think about until you need it.”

For $60 a day, kupuna can get breakfast, lunch, snacks and activities ranging from sewing to arts and crafts. There is no minimum number of days nor is there a registration fee.

Evers, who is a licensed social worker, opened the first adult day center in Waianae in 1986. She explained that day care centers average about $1,000 a month compared to nursing home placement or care home placement that can cost upward of $6,000 a month.

“It allows the individual to remain at home for as long as possible,” Evers said. “The fact that they’re in the program during the day means families are still able to go to work.”

She also explained that Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center has four other locations: Pearl City (at Pearl City Hongwanji), Nanakuli, Helemano and Alewa Heights (which specializes in residents with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia).

“What we’ve done at our other centers is that when we have ladies who like to sew, we make blankets,” Evers said. “When we have 10 blankets, we take them to be donated to a hospital or a shelter, and then we take our seniors out to lunch after the presentation.”

Besides sewing, there are also movies playing every day and there’s a poker table. “Our seniors really seem to like poker,” Evers said. “It’s hard to get them to leave to have lunch because they’re having fun.” Exercise activities and outings are also part of the routine.

For more information on Mililani Hale or Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, call Evers at 542-9073 or drop in to see the centers in operation and to pick up applications.