Let me say thank you for the opportunity to hereby inform you about the activity of Irmák Group.
IRMÁK Nonprofit Ltd. as one of the largest civil organisations in Hungary has considerable experience in the field of social care. Currently we are offering 21 services with operating licence in 8 service types at 8 business units. The number of our permanent clients in our residential institutions is approximately 520 people, and taking into consideration all services is nearly 700 people, besides that we offer help in case of several individual requests. In the employment-, care- and residential homes, lodging and day centre institutions and in the frame of support services we are trying to make the life of the challenged people living in our homes easier.
This is the 11th year that we have taken our share in the tasks of social care, and we have a good overview of the everyday difficulties of the Hungarian care system and within this the operation of local governments.
Beginnings…
The Irsai Mentálhigiénés Ápolási Központ Szociális Szolgáltató Közhasznú Társaság (Irsai Mental Hygiene Care Centre Social Service Provider Public Corporation) from 2009 IRMÁK Nonprofit Ltd., was established in May 2000 by 3 private individuals in Albertirsa with the aim of supporting the accomplishment of equal rights and the possible highest level living standards in the life of the needy as an effective and active participant in the local social care. One of the antecedents of the company’s foundation was that the Pest County Assembly decided to carry out structural changes in the county’s social care system, and in the frame of restructuring they preferred that the institutions transform themselves into public corporations and they supported the involvement of the private sphere in the social care activities. The Irmák Kht. has taken over the facilitation of three institutions from the Pest County Local Government, the Albertirsa Special Mental Hygiene Home for Disabled Persons, the Kraxner Alajos Special Mental Hygiene Home for Disabled Persons in Csobánka and the Home for Retired Persons in Piliscsaba on 16th September 2000.
Improvements of the first few years… establishment of residential homes
We have spent the next few years with serious professional work, preparing the capacity expansion of our services and the expansion of the scope of the services provided by us. In 2001 we have expanded the Care Home in Albertirsa; in 2002 we have launched a new service form offered for mentally challenged people, the planning of the establishment of a „residential home”. These residential homes enable us to establish a care service with a family atmosphere. Our first two residential homes – for eight people each – were handed over in August and September 2002 in Albertirsa and in Csobánka. These homes are providing care since 2003. With th e help of these institutions the number of people waiting for institutional care decreased by 16 persons.
The third residential home – in Bács-Kiskun County – for 12 people started its operation in Soltvadkert in February 2004 under the name of Híd (Bridge) Residential Home of Irmák Kht.
We have saved the future of those living there, because the previous maintainer institution was planning to shut down the institution for financial reasons.
In our residential homes, by establishing smaller, family-like units we ensure the framework of a more human-focused service, where our primary task is to focus on the skills of the individuals with the help of improvement work. We would like to offer higher quality, richer living standards for the challenged and to support the growth of their independence and to give them the opportunity to return to a family and to the society.
2004 – Implementation of two new service forms in Albertirsa: day care institution for challenged people and support service
It is a general phenomenon in our country, that the number of people waiting for institutional accommodation is high, therefore it usually takes several years to get in to an institution. We have tried to find the solution for this problem, by exploiting the opportunities offered by the social system.
Our aim was to introduce such a service form as well, which is targeted to ease the life of those families who do not wish or who cannot place their relatives in institutions.
With the above aim our first Day Care Service Institution, accommodating 20 people has started its operation from February 2004 in Albertirsa, where we are open from 7 am to 5 pm for the mentally disabled, who are living with their families. Two years later, at the spring of 2006, we have recognised the need and we have extended the authorized number of persons in the day care institution from 20 to 25. For our clients we are organising leisure time, skill development, sport programs and joint holidays. As most of our clients are adults, we build our courses on maintaining the existing skills and abilities. Our clients learn the execution of daily tasks in practice: joint shopping trips (which contains getting the shopping trolley, finding the necessary products and counting), sorting out postal administration. In our everyday life organisation of the catering services, washing up, cleaning the dining and other course premises, taking care of the plants and preserving the order of the courtyard also belongs to our tasks (besides the supervision).
In 2004, our first Support Service was also launched in Albertirsa, which helps the challenged in solving problems arising in everyday life: such as obtaining prescriptions from the doctor, getting the medication, shopping, management of official matters, obtaining the necessary forms, mental support for our clients and the rest of the family, transportation of our clients to the doctor, offices, transportation of mentally challenged children to school, employment support. For these families life becomes “liveable”, and the challenged people may stay this way in their normal environment.
2005 – Introduction of new service forms in other institutions of Irmák Kht.
In 2005 one more day care service facility was opened (in Csobánka), accommodating 20 people and further 7 support services started their operation in Pest and in Bács-Kiskun Counties (Budakeszi, Piliscsaba, Csobánka, Perbál, Szentendre, Cegléd, Soltvadkert – the latter was operating until the end of 2006); accordingly we have been offering 16 services in 5 service types for two years now.
This year we have expanded our largest institution, the Kraxner Alajos Special Mental Hygiene Home for Disabled Persons in Csobánka, offering 125 places instead of the previous 120.
New opportunity of 2006: social employment
As there are no rehabilitation institutions for challenged people in the region of Csobánka and Albertirsa, therefore in our institutions – however they are mainly care homes – we have also put significant emphasis on the rehabilitation and development programs. Since 2000 we have established a unique employment structure, which since 2006 has been acknowledged by the state as a service.
By acknowledging the opportunities hidden in various levels of social employment, in 2006 we made the employment of adults with slight mental
disorder in all of our institutions dealing with challenged people.
Autumn 2006 – as one of the Hungarian pioneers –first of all in Csobánka, than 1 or 2 months later in Albertirsa and in Soltvadkert we have launched the social employment services, where most of the residents of the institutions take part.
According to the social employment permit we have the opportunity to involve our clients as the following forms and numbers:
Albertirsa – 39 person in work-rehabilitation, 90 person in development-training courses.
Csobánka – 66 person in work-rehabilitation, 80 person in development-training courses
This means the employment of a total of 275 people. The aim of the activity performed in the frame of employment is to support the adaptation of our clients to the society. For the achievement of the aim, IRMÁK Nonprofit Ltd. as employer provides the personal and other criteria and the opportunity of continuous employment.
In order to provide this opportunity, our colleagues are continuously searching for external work opportunities and assignments. Currently we provide employment for more than 200 people and this way we can save the purchase of various services necessary for the operation of the institutions, which would otherwise mean significant costs to the institutions.
We offer the opportunity for our residents that according to their interest and their ability, after a work trial and based on their own decision find the job they like to do in a given field. Our work activity offer is fairly wide: kitchen help, courtyard and park maintenance work, organic gardening, crop farming, cleaning, laundry help, office help, internal delivery tasks, packaging, simple assembling tasks, maintenance works.
Current days…
IRMÁK UTILIS Nonprofit Ltd.
IRMÁK UTILIS Nonprofit Ltd. has taken over the facilitation of further three institutions from the Pest County Local Government: the Domony Care Home For Psychiatric Patients, the Fehér Hattyú Home for Retired Persons in Szentlőrinckáta and the Margita Home for Retired Persons in Szada on 1st January 2009.
IRMÁK Pharma Pharmacy
Based on our plans, the IRMÁK Pharma Pharmacy was opened in February of 2009 with the following purposes: beside to cover the IRMÁK institutions’ medicine demand, improve the available pharmacies, medical products and moreover the medical services in Albertirsa. Some of the demands occures in this town is not contented yet, in this case we plan to induct several services – monthly reference, direct chemist – patient relationship performance, filtration, etc. – to cover all the occured demands. Our purpose is, to give real contents for our mission.
Thanks to the last 11 years we were able to establish the currently so-well operating system, which is still operated by Irmák Nonprofit Ltd. We are currently operating the below institutions by ensuring the below services:
Pest County - Albertirsa
IRMÁK Nonprofit Ltd. Special Mental Hygiene Homefor Disabled Persons and Institutes
Special Mental Hygiene Home for Disabled Persons– 82 places
Special Employment Residential Home – 8 places
HÍD Residental home – 12 places
Day Care Service Institution – 25 places
Support Service Albertirsa (and the sorroundings) – 67.815 potential clients
Work-rehabilitation – 39 people
Development-training courses – 90 people
Pest County - Csobánka
IRMÁK Nonprofit Ltd. Kraxner Alajos Special Mental Hygiene Home for Disabled Persons and Institutes
Kraxner Alajos Special Mental Hygiene Home for Disabled Persons - 125 places
Liget Residental Home - 8 places
Day Care Service Institution – 20 places
Support Service Csobánka (and the sorroundings) – 75.341 potential clients
Work-rehabilitation – 66 people
Development-training courses – 80 people
Pest County - Piliscsaba
IRMÁK Nonprofit Ltd. Home of Retired Persons and Institutes
Retired Persons Home - 80 places
Support Service Piliscsaba (and the sorroundings)- 40.502 potential clients
Pest County - Domony
IRMÁK Utilis Nonprofit Ltd. Care Home for PsychiatricPatients – 75 places
Development-training courses – 4 people
Pest County - Szada
IRMÁK Utilis Nonprofit Ltd. Home of Retired Persons - 65 places
Pest County - Szentlőrinckáta
IRMÁK Utilis Nonprofit Ltd. Home of Retired Persons - 70 places
About our professional concept
Our general professional concept is as follows: besides a full-scope, personal service we provide our clients with high-level and customized care and mental-hygiene care and development in order to achieve the aimed normalization-integration- autonomy. The scope of our development courses covers the following areas: movement development –physiotherapy, horse-therapy, drawing course, creative course, dance course, drama pedagogy, handcraft course, IT course, lifestyle course, competition sport.
During our professional programs it is our aim that the life of our clients living in our institutions and the professional work is excellent quality, and in the meanwhile considerable accommodation place expansion shall take place and new, up-to-date service forms are established.
We have elaborated various constructions in the last years, and due to these we can undertake the compulsory tasks of the local government partners with care contracts – according to our opinion – cheaper and in a more effective way. Our public corporation is currently in care contract legal relationship with various local governments for providing social services. If our corporation provides a service in a real estate owned by the local government, after the takeover of the real estate for utilisation within the handed over real estate the number of place were extended, refurbishment and where it was requested service-expansion also took place according to the needs, exclusively following the government standards, for own inputs and by using tender opportunities.
Social Care contracts, areas, number of the potential clients
Name of the Organization
Care type
Area
Number of the potential clients
Pest County Government
Permanent lodging home
Pest County
1 176 550 people
Budaörsi Local Government Small Area Association
Support service
Budakeszi, Budajenő
15 207
Dunakanyari és Pilis Local Government Small Area Association
We are trying to organise our activity in a way that besides the professional services other socially useful values are also accomplished. We have tried to the implement one of the most important elements of our professional concept, the social employment in a way that environment consciousness, healthy lifestyle and equal rights were always in the foreground.
Irmák Nonprofit Ltd. tributes special attention to the physical and mental health of the its clients and employees, which (also) means that the food produced in the frame of the organic gardening activities carried out during social employment is used for supplying the institutions. The logic of our way of thinking is easy to capture: if employment make it gardening, if gardening, make it organic gardening, if organic gardening use the food during the catering services of the institutions, exterminate allergen plants –at the end healthier nutrition and environment.
In the spirit of environment consciousness we are advertising selective waste collection, where our residents – occasionally in the frame of employment – participate with great enthusiasm. We have established fruitful relationships with the local organisations in order to achieve this, and as a result we have received the acknowledgement of Ökovíz Kft. as a featured partner, and we received a certificate and an award as well.
Irmák Nonprofit Ltd. is committed devotee of equal rights, not only through the services it is providing, but by its organizational structure and as an employer. This is indicated by the fact that our female employees are not only represented as subordinates, but they fulfil leading roles with a ratio of 90%, and the distinction between the two sexes is not represented in our wage policy. Due to the social employment 240 to 270 people of the 500 employees of Irmák Nonprofit Ltd. are disadvantaged namely challenged people (mentally and/or physically) or have a Roma origin. It shows our openness and flexibility that as a family-friendly work place we employ majority of our employees in part-time, flexible work patterns, delayed work patterns. In terms of creating employment opportunities it is also important to consider that through the service-developments implemented from the beginning we have created several new employment opportunities.
Partner relationships
In the implementation of our successfully introduced services our professional partner relationships played and are still playing a significant role. The relationship established in 2004 with the SUSSL (Sweden –Jarna) organization and through the meetings organized several times each year we had the opportunity to study the employment, organise exchange programs and holidays at least once a year for our residents. Besides that the institution leaders had various opportunities to get to know the operation of the foreign institutions.
In the frame of a co-operation agreement entered into in 2003 with the Hubert-Pascal Institute (France-Nimes) also exchange trips and employee experience exchange programs were organised. The Lebenshilfe (Leipzig) organization through the studying of residential care programs and exchange programs helped to recognize the significance of the residential homes and to work out successful methods for their operation.
We have good connection with two organizations in Finnland. Due to Leonardo project, we already have partnership aggreement with Aura Institutions, which let us study the work of finnish specialists in the institutions in 2008.
Our other connection with the Leväniemen Toimintakeskus Foundation has rich past. During our last meeting with them in Finnland, we decided to make our connection much deeper, and discussed about the possiblity of common investments in Hungary.
As the summer of 2010 in Piliscsaba, Csobánka and Albertirsa Finnish students have spent their summer social practices in our institutions.
We make sure that not only the employees and the institution leaders benefit from these relationships. The focus was on the life of residents of our homes, their vacations and travels.
Our unique successes
Hyppo therapy for the challenged
At the beginning of September 2000 in the territory of the Csobánka institution the riding hall was burnt down, and the area was handed over to our organization together with the dangerous ruins. After that we had two opportunities: final removal of the debris, or based on the existing needs the foundation of a hyppo - therapy centre. Our organization has opted for the second option, this way by using our own funds we have rebuilt the Riding school, which has been operated since August 2002, and currently it is hosting 12 horses.
In the last few years our colleagues are providing horse riding opportunity for more than 100 challenged and non-challenged children.
It is among our short-term aims to establish a covered stable, which would not be opposed to the weather and could operate all year round and this way we could meet the increased demands. The preparation is currently underway, in a planning phase.
Active sport life
The Sport Association of Irmák – members are the residents and employees of the institutions of Irmák Nonprofit Ltd. –is an active participant for years the sport life of challenged people; our residents are regularly representing us at national and world competitions. Our colleagues ensure their preparation. Since the establishment of the sport association in 2002 we are regular participants of the competitions organised by MÉS and MSOSZ. The latest, maybe the greatest result was achieved by our competitors at the Shanghai Special Olympic Games this year, where 4 out of the 68 athletes of the Hungarian team were the competitors of the
Irmák Sprint SE, who returned home with 4 golden, 4 silver and 1 bronze medals, and a fourth place from the world-class competition. The most successful athlete of the 2007 Hungarian team, Károly Holdosi is also member of our sport association.
Open days in the institutions
The open days, which are regularly organised since the beginning are extremely popular not only among our residents, clients but also among the residents of the neighbouring towns. At these events, where live concerts, lectures, sport events are also organised, several thousands of people are visiting our institutions, and they have the opportunity to get to know our everyday life and to decrease their possible prejudices.
Tenders, which help to achieve our aims
As we can see above, IRMÁK Nonprofit Ltd. as one of the largest civil organizations operating in Pest County has significant experience in the fields of social care. Since the foundation of our organization several such programs have been operated in our institutions, which are pioneers in the current supply system, and makes the lives of challenged people more easy, supporting their employment.
One of our largest projects finished on the 31st August 2008 financed by European Union funds started from 1st September 2006, in the frame of the two-year ROP program at the premises of Albertirsa and Csobánka. In the frame of the program the two-year education a total of 35 challenged people and disadvantaged people (Roma origin, low educational qualification, in certain cases permanently unemployed people) is organised, and due to this education the participants are able to carry out organic gardening activities and other tasks related to the maintenance of public areas. The so-called target group consists of two parts, 25 current residents of our institutions, while 10 people are coming from outside, through the ROP program.
We can proudly say that the project was successfully accomplished, the one-year theoretical and practical education and employing period accomplishing the integrated education of challenged and non-challenged people was completed, no back-logs were detected, and the exams were delivered by all target group members. In the second year of the program, the participants continued their training, also carried out work at various places: in the horticultural facilities of the institutions in Csobánka and Albertirsa and at public areas.
If we have the opportunity, in the frame of new contracts we also undertake other jobs in other towns.
At the end of the second year (on 31st August 2008) however the program finished, the work continues: according to our plans by the established group of professionals, by using the obtained knowledge and experience IRMÁK Nonprofit Ltd. is planning to start training and employment of other clients in other institutions. Besides that we also participate in the employment of the people taking part at this project.
The future – our aims
We also tribute special attention to the satisfaction of our employees, as for the productive and professional work their loyalty and enthusiasm is necessary, therefore we are planning to establish a new, up-to-date office block, supplemented by educational and training hall, with a floor space of 400 m2 in Albertirsa, which is our headquarter.
We are not planning to stop at the so far achieved level of environment conscious behaviour, as we are planning to establish our investments subordinated to the utilisation of renewal energy resources (energy saving bulbs, water saving sanitary systems, environment-friendly building materials and sustainable construction solutions) by utilising the related tenders.
We believe that in the last 11 years we have established a well-operating, extensive social system within the region, always by taking into consideration the latest opportunities and their applicability in social care. As we believe that for the successful operation of the social supply system we need the linkage of supply forms and a complex social care service we have been so far and we will strive for in the future to accomplish this, even within our organisation. We believe that even by co-operation the best possible complex service and harmonically adopted social care can also be established at a region or in a town.
Elements of personal care, based on the co-operation of a narrower region can be operated at much lower costs and in a more humane way.
In the spirit of this we undertake in the territory of even brand new real estate the establishment of
social mental hygiene homes for disabled persons,
nursery schools,
infant’s nurseries,
sport facilities
meeting all demands, and complying with European standards, and their cost-effective operation. The established institutions can be rented, leased or purchased by the Local Government or a contractual partner for a long-term.
Final words
For us it is very important to get to know us and support us within the trade and at those regions where we are present with our services. Our support work can only be really effective if we can essentially integrate in our environment and they accept us, our mission and the difference represented by our clients. We are planning to be present at the region in a way, that our programs, events and high-level professional work ensure the radiating impact. We would like to achieve fame and professional acknowledgment for the region where we live and work.
Csilla Vizvári János Szebenszki
managing director managing director
