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Igniting the Spark of Life in people with dementia

South Australia

Elliston – Eyre Peninsula

Elliston Hospital, Country Health South Australia Local Health Network – On the Journey to Become a Spark of Life Centre of Excellence.

Elliston Hospital is a small, rural hospital and aged care facility. It is unique as it covers all four areas of emergency, acute care, aged and dementia care, all under the same roof.

Anthony Ryan, Spark of Life Master Practitioner

Anthony has a background in Nursing and is the Eyre & Far North Regional Director of Nursing and the Executive Officer/Director of Nursing of Elliston Hospital on the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.

Anthony is also the Chair of the Regional Aged Care Committee and a member of the CHSALHN (Country Health South Australia Local Health Network) Comprehensive Care of Older People (CCOP) working group.

Trudy Wadsworth, Spark of Life Master Practitioner

 

Trudy is a Registered Nurse and Clinical Leader at Elliston Hospital, Country Health, South Australia. It is in the care of people experiencing dementia that she has found her true passion.

Together Anthony and Trudy have embarked upon a journey with their colleagues and the people in their care to create a Spark of Life Centre of Excellence in Elliston.

Anthony and Trudy propose to enable their hospital to become a role model of the Spark of Life Philosophy that will inspire the staff working in other centres in their region to see what it is possible to achieve for people with dementia.

‘We have big plans to offer staff from other facilities a chance to see, touch, taste and feel what life can be like for all of our beautiful people with dementia. We will be inviting family members, work mates and the community to come and learn more about how to make the lives of our special friends as rich and as fulfilling as we know they can be thanks to the Spark of Life Philosophy.’

~ Trudy Wadsworth

 

Watch Trudy Wadsworth, Clinical Leader, Elliston Hospital, South Australia expressing what the Spark of Life Philosophy means to her: