Spark of Life Model of Care Creating an Exceptional Culture & Care Delivery

By Mischeal McCormick, Spark of Life Master Practitioner, Owner of Adriel House & Adriel Rest Home, Amberley, South Island, New Zealand

22nd February, 2024

Adriel House and Rest Home are two dementia specific homes, situated in a rural farming community, 40 kilometres north of Christchurch, New Zealand, each with 21 residents. In November 2019, both homes achieved certification as Spark of Life Centres of Excellence. The certification means that our two homes have met specific requirements, showing comprehensive qualitative and quantitative evidence of outcomes that meet psychosocial standards in care.

As a nursing home owner, I chose the Spark of Life Model of Care as it includes specialised education, with tools that enable this information to be passed on to every staff member in the facility, as well as a self-evaluation guide that supports continuous improvement as best practice. This is a total package. Education resources provided as part of the Model are well presented, researched, easy to follow and of high quality. From a leadership perspective, I value the ongoing support, mentoring and two monthly professional development teleconferences with relevant topics included with the model.

This ground-breaking Model has enabled Adriel to have a point of difference, to think outside the square and move away from the boundaries of convention. We have learned to discover new possibilities and solutions to challenging issues facing people living with dementia. This has led to innovation and new ideas in my team. These ideas don’t need to be expensive or grand, but they have a huge positive impact on staff, residents and families.

Implementing the Model has enabled our service to have a definite goal to strive for: to be recognised as an innovator in the delivery of dementia care in New Zealand. This has set us apart from other Rest Homes in my country and ensured we have a good reputation in the community of providing supportive care. We now have full occupancy and our small privately owned home remains financially viable.

Adriel’s unique culture and care delivery has been enhanced by the model. We provide genuine Person-Centred Care. Each resident is appreciated as an individual person and supported on their own journey. All staff at Adriel work as a team, supporting our people with dementia. Families are also included, invited and encouraged to share in the care of their loved ones. Everyone communicates and works together to ensure the residents remain as individual and independent for as long as possible. This focus is integrated into their daily support, written care plans, and it is now the norm.

Meaningful activities based on the Spark of Life Philosophy are provided for residents which give them purpose, motivation, opportunity for reminiscing and boost their self-esteem. Our residents now have a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Because of this, for the last 10 years, we have not required the use of personal or physical restraint.

Due to the welcoming, inclusive and understanding atmosphere created by all staff, new residents feel at home and settle in quickly. We have experienced minimal behaviours. In addition, fall rates have decreased.

Staff have shifted to a rehabilitation mindset and our residents remain independent for longer with their quality of life improved. The doors to the garden are open for residents to walk freely in and out and they are encouraged to collect the paper from the mailbox, pick flowers from the garden, feed the numerous animals, weed and water plants and vegetables.

As a result of the Spark of Life Education staff are empowered and their self-esteem and confidence in their job improved. They find that they can put into practice what they have learned in their everyday work and personal lives. Their communication with residents is enhanced and they experience immediate positive results from the residents. Witnessing these outcomes is profoundly rewarding, and at the core of why our staff now love to work with people who have dementia.

Our home is attracting staff who really care, and by implementing the Model they gain a sense of achievement and a heightened job satisfaction which both facilitate a happier working environment. Staff now tell me: “I look forward to coming to work”.  That is always wonderful and encouraging for an owner to hear especially when the comments are not related to wages or money but to the good feeling the staff have.

In April 2014, Adriel received its first Continuous Improvement (a New Zealand standard that represents exceptional outcomes) by independent Auditors for using the Spark of Life Model of Care and being able to evidence a reduction in challenging behaviours and depression. In April 2017 and 2021 when re-audited our home was again commended with a further number of Continuous Improvements for the implementation of Spark of Life and for the community connections we facilitate.

In recognition of these remarkable achievements, I have been invited to speak at the Institute of Internal Auditors’ national conference on the results experienced at her service.

After 14 years of practical implementation, I wholeheartedly recommend the Spark of Life Model of Care to global healthcare services wishing to achieve to provide the highest quality of life for their clients, residents and patients.  I appeal to governments and policy makers to prioritise providing funds to services who wish to access this best practice model to improve their quality of care.