Walking into Lighthouse Adult Care Services, it feels different right away.

The halls are festively lit and beautifully decorated, creating a sense of celebration and warmth. Handmade gifts line their office—crafts made by residents for their families. Baskets, art projects, and creative supplies fill closets and shelves, ready to be turned into moments of fun. The room hums with activity, laughter, and purpose.

At the center of it all are Sandy Price and Jan Podris, whose bright faces and welcoming presence make you feel instantly at home. Lighthouse Adult Care Services is not just a place they work—it is a place they love.

And that love is felt in every activity for the clients in their care.

A Story Born from Difficulty

Lighthouse Adult Care Services began with one woman caring for her mother, who was deteriorating rapidly due to dementia. 

Sandy Price shared how the journey started while she was caring for her mom full-time. Sandy and her husband bought a home in Stansbury Park so her parents could live with them while her husband worked at Dugway Proving Ground.

Like many caregivers, Sandy gave everything she had—until her own health began to decline. She recalled a moment at a doctor’s appointment when someone asked her a question she had never heard before:

“Have you thought about taking her to an adult daycare?”

Sandy didn’t know what that meant. After searching, she found the closest adult day program was in Salt Lake City. She began taking her mom once a week, then eventually five days a week.

Though the drive was long, the time it gave her was life-changing and life-saving.

“I had that little bit of time in between where I could take a nap or go to a doctor myself or run errands, shopping, or whatever.”

That experience planted a seed—but it wasn’t until her breaking point that the vision truly formed.

A Breaking Point That Became a Calling

One night, overwhelmed and exhausted, Sandy reached her limit. Her mother’s dementia had shifted their relationship, and despite Sandy’s sacrifices, she felt like the “bad guy.”

“My mother, due to her dementia, would say, ‘I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.’ And I’d say, ‘Well, I love you.’”

That night, Sandy left the house without a plan.

“I had a meltdown…, I am done.” She didn’t think she could come back home. Out of that moment came what Sandy described as divine inspiration. “I was divinely inspired.”

She felt called, not just to keep going, but to start something new. “I thought, my gosh… how can I keep doing this?” And then the question that came to her changed everything: “How can I not do it?”

Building Something That Didn’t Exist

Sandy tried to get others to start an adult day program in Tooele County. She asked organizations, businesses, and even the center where she had taken her mom. When no one could do it, she finally made a decision.

“Okay, I’ll do it,” she said reluctantly, at first, wanting to follow through on her inspiration.

With a degree in psychology, Sandy completed internships and training at both nonprofit and for-profit adult day programs. From the beginning, she knew Lighthouse had to be nonprofit. “It needs to be affordable for everyone,” she resolved.

People told her it would be too hard. They warned her against starting a nonprofit. “They were thinking I was crazy.”

Still, she persisted. The idea came in 2017—but Lighthouse didn’t open its doors until 2022. “It was like a five-year haul,” Sandy remembers.

“We Have Miracles Every Single Day Here”

Ask Sandy and Jan how Lighthouse survives, and they don’t hesitate. “We have miracles every single day here.”

There were moments when finances were tight, when it felt like the doors might close.

“There were times when we said, ‘Okay, I’ll make payroll, and then we’ll just have to close the doors,’” Sandy recalls. And then, without fail: “Lo and behold, a donation would come in.”

Volunteers appeared when Sandy and Jan desperately needed them. Staff came despite low pay. Community members donated resources, time, and love.

“Every single person that walks through this door… They are just amazing,” Jan says with gratitude. They both emphasize that they could not do it without their volunteers, their highly skilled staff, and their board of directors, who support them with their time and expertise.

A Program Designed With Intention

Lighthouse Adult Care Services is not a place where people are “parked in front of a TV.”

Instead, Sandy and Jan created a structured, intentional program designed to slow cognitive decline and keep clients engaged. Each day follows a thoughtful schedule with themed conversations, snacks, creative activities, movement, relaxation, and music.

“We try to stimulate them in five areas,” Jan says. She identifies these essential areas as, “Emotional, social, physical, spiritual, and mental.”

Creative projects often become gifts for families. Cooking and baking pull from lifelong memories. Movement activities are safe and seated—but always fun.

Music time is especially impactful. “They’ll just be sitting kind of non-verbal in this little phase where they can’t talk.” Jan then recalls with a sparkle in her eye, “It’s my favorite, favorite time, watching them just come back alive and remembering who they were. Music comes on, and they’ll start singing along or their feet will start tapping.”

Supporting Families, Not Just Clients

At Lighthouse, care doesn’t stop with the individual.

“Our clients are also the caregivers,” Sandy insists, “We’re actually helping them to try to stay healthier longer, mentally, physically, and less stressed.”

Caregivers get time to rest, work, or attend appointments—knowing their loved one is safe. Families receive communication about eating habits, engagement, and changes they may not notice at home.

“My goal,” Jan says, “for them is that they feel happy, safe, and loved.”

Clients often become like family. Even after clients pass away, spouses return to visit.

“It just becomes this beautiful, beautiful family community,” Jan says, a little teary-eyed.

A Rare Resource for Tooele County

There are only a handful of adult day centers like Lighthouse in the entire state of Utah.

“For the fact that Tooele has one is huge,” Jan affirms.

Lighthouse serves adults 50 years and older with dementia, Parkinson’s, traumatic brain injury, autism, and other needs. Fees are offered on a sliding scale to ensure affordability. “We’re not in this for the money—we’re in this for the community and the people,” Jan emphasizes.

A Light That Keeps Shining

Lighthouse Adult Care Services was born from inspiration, exhaustion, faith, perseverance, and love.

It exists because Sandy and Jan don’t give up. It exists because miracles kept showing up. It exists because Sandy listened to her inspiration when she was in dire need.

For Tooele County, Lighthouse is more than a program.

It is hope.
It is a relief.
It is family.
It is light.

And that light continues to shine from their lighthouse—one miracle at a time.