30 May 2017

Igniting a spark of life

We asked for your support to introduce Spark of Life to our Enliven care homes in the last edition of People. We are making great progress…

The Spark of Life programme focuses on meeting the emotional needs of people with dementia, so they feel appreciated, loved, and involved. This is of central importance, with an increasing number of residents living with dementia.

We have committed to training Enliven staff so they have the specialist skills required to support residents with dementia. Leigh McLeod, Clinical Coordinator at Ranui Enliven care home in Alexandra, completed the intensive 21-day Spark of Life training in Perth during May.

Leigh said, “the Spark of Life course was amazing and what I’ve learnt will be life changing for the people living with dementia, their families, and our staff.”

“I attended the course alongside some amazing people with a different range of cultures and such diverse stories. I’m excited to be getting started on the implementation."

Leigh’s priority is to train other Ranui staff to use Spark of Life practices, and determine how we implement the programme at Ranui. Spark of Life will then be introduced to other Enliven homes across Otago where we have dementia units.

Thank you to everyone who gave a donation towards supporting our commitment to implement Spark of Life. We are part-way towards our fundraising target, and you still have an opportunity to make a donation in support of this critical initiative.