Disabled Equal Oppertunity Employer

Spółdzielnia Inwalidów ŚWIT

Disabled people	From the very start, i.e. since 1944, the disabled workers cooperative Spółdzielnia Inwalidów "Świt" employed disabled persons. At that time their rehabilitation was not the matter of priority. The challenge in those hard times and in the country so much devastated by the war was to secure the source of living for people, to give the opportunity to work and earn money. The dynamic development of the Cooperative made its management, as well as the Association of Disabled Workers Cooperatives, interested in other aspects of such enterprises' operations. This resulted in the extension of the in-house outpatient clinic facilities and in the implementation of a wider range of occupational and therapeutic rehabilitation programs. The turning point in the operation of the Cooperative was undertaking the ambitious mission of providing extensive occupational therapies in the environment of a regular company to persons recovering from nervous or psychic diseases. In 1960, it was indeed a pioneer project. At that time, no other company in Poland had a dedicated shelter work department for persons recovering from this kind of diseases. "Świt" took up the project under the direction of a psychiatrist, Dr. Mieczysław Długokęcki, with no exemplars to follow or experience to draw from. Since that time, the rehabilitation of the disabled persons has been the Cooperative's primary statutory objective. In 1961, the Cooperative offered employment to the first 70 persons referred by the medical commission for rehabilitation at the Voivodeship Outpatient Clinic for Mental Diseases in Warsaw. These people were unable to work in normal work environment. They were employed in the 12 manufacturing departments where workers performed dozens of manufacturing activities and where the work could be organized in rotation. Owing to the fact that they were offered the best possible working conditions and owing to the enormous effort and patience of the rehabilitation staff, the primary goals were achieved: the identity of the persons suffering from psychoneurological disorders remained unknown to other workers, their maintenance treatment was continued and they gradually learned various activities – from the simplest to the complex ones. The latter was the most difficult to achieve. In the case of disabled persons recovering from nervous diseases, a number of barriers must be overcome – the psychic barrier, their lack of self-confidence, apathy and unwillingness to overcome difficulties. In the first place, the patient must regain self-confidence and believe again that he or she is as fit as anyone else and that his or her work is useful for the society and the money he or she receives is not out of compassion but for the work performed and valued as in the case of any other employee's work.
Financial support	In addition, the Cooperative offered significant financial support for the disabled persons in: adjusting their household facilities to their needs, removing architectural barriers, furnishing their apartments with various household appliances. There were numerous sport activities and events organized for the disabled employees, including sea cruises and international sport tournaments in various disciplines practiced by the handicapped. After the economic slump in early 90's, the Cooperative was forced to limit its business operation and, unfortunately, its rehabilitation activity as well. It was impossible to secure the most seriously affected persons and to continue their employment at the Cooperative. At present, the rehabilitation outpatient clinic provides regular health care and rehabilitation at the physiotherapy room, as well as prophylactic occupational medical checks. There are patients' clubs, rehabilitation vacations and individual support programs. Today, Spółdzielnia Inwalidów "Świt" employs 283 people, including the 183 disabled persons.
The Rehabilitation Outpatient Clinic Today	All the employees of the Outpatient Clinic are women. All of them have been working here for a very long time – from 7 to 40 years. They are on very familiar terms with their patients – the employees of the Cooperative, they know the patients' health and family problems. They are professional, sympathetic and very friendly. The entire personnel of the Outpatient Clinic serves the patients to their individual needs. The Rehabilitation Outpatient Clinic has an advanced, well-equipped rehabilitation and physiotherapy room. Our employees (with various types and various degrees of motion-related disabilities) may benefit from physiotherapeutic sessions during their work hours. There are also general rehabilitation groups available. On the average, as many as 20 persons attend physiotherapeutic sessions every day.
Patient's Club	The Patient Club, which was founded and is still directed by Dr. Barbara Dmuchowska and the psychologist, Małgorzata Bielecka, has been active in the Cooperative since 1986. Each club event gathers from 15 to 40 participants. These meetings have significant effect on the integration and friendly relationships among the patients – the Cooperative's employees. At first, there were weekly meetings, which were held at the premises of the Cooperative. These meetings were attended by a group of mentally affected employees. For the last few years, there has been another group for patients with mental disorders. The meetings are often attended by other patients as well. The meetings offer the activities such as: psychotherapeutic sessions, discussions about music, watching video films together. Several times a year, there are walks around Warsaw, e.g. visits to the ZOO. From time to time, they go to the theater or to the cinema. During the year, the club members go on one-day sightseeing excursions by bus. In the past, when the financial condition of the Cooperative was better, there were even a few-day long excursions.On some weekends, the club members go to the Cooperative's rehabilitation and leisure center in Wilga. Every year, there is a fancy dress party and other occasional events, e.g. the Spring Day. Apart from leisure activities and fun, the club members participate in sport activities and tournaments. The Patient's Club members have Christmas and Easter meetings as well, with traditional wafer or egg sharing. The Club's 10th anniversary was celebrated with the stage performance of "Cinderella". The performers, the set designers and the authors of the stage decorations were the club members themselves. This was an unforgettable experience for them. The more so because the audience, apart from their families, was their fellow workers from the Cooperative, who came to the performance room almost in full.
Rehabilitation and Leisure Centers	Spółdzielnia Inwalidów "Świt" has three rehabilitation and leisure centers in different parts of the country. They are adjusted to serve the needs of the handicapped. The Center in Chmielno is located within the Kaszuby National Scenic Park, between three lakes: Białe, Kłodno and Rekowo. The Center has direct access to the water, with its own two piers. It is well fitted with aquatic equipment. It is open seasonally – from April through September. There are no group meals offered. The Center offers 72 beds – 60 beds in the two brick pavilions, and 12 in the new building intended for the common/dining purposes. The double and triple rooms have wash basins with cold and hot water. The toilets and the showers are in the separate facility and in the common building. The Center in Wilga, near Warsaw, is located in a pine forest. Since 1991 it has been on lease. The present lessee offers rehabilitation stays with therapeutic horse riding. The Center has 80 beds. There are double rooms in wooden lodges, each having its own terrace and sanitary facilities. There is a spacious common building, connected to the dining room and the large kitchen. The Center in Grzybowo is situated 200 meters away from the Baltic Sea shore. It has its own platform with a descend onto the beach. It has been on lease since 1991. The Center has the facilities for hydrotherapy. The Center offers 80 beds. The double and triple rooms, each equipped with a wash basin, are located in the two-story brick building, with excellent dining and common room facilities.
The Future of the Disabled in Spółdzielnia Inwalidów "Świt" and in our country	What is rehabilitation? It is restoring good name and good reputation. It is restoring activity to persons suffering from chronic diseases, both physical and mental. It is preparing a handicapped person to professional life through special training. Occupational rehabilitation of the handicapped is therapy through work. It is getting these people back to the society – the people who, for various reasons, were not prepared to living within the society or were excluded from such life by a disease or disability. There is no common rehabilitation model which could be effectively applied to all: each disabled person must be treated differently, using the therapy that would bring the best results in each individual case. The reason why in many cases the condition of disabled persons, particularly those recovering from mental diseases, worsens after they leave the inpatient health care institution is the unfriendly attitude of the environment, often even of their own families. Until such person regains his or her self-confidence and the sense of being useful for others, the curing process cannot be considered completed. Spółdzielnia Inwalidów "Świt" has vast experience in this area – unique not only in our country, but also worldwide. We are ready to share our experience of over forty years with anyone who is willing to collaborate. We worry, however, that our many years of hard work with disabled persons, especially with those suffering from psychoneurological disorders, may be forgotten. Unfavorable changes in the laws on sheltered work companies dramatically reduced the resources from which the rehabilitation programs are financed. Such changes seriously affected the quality and the range of the rehabilitation programs under way. The reform of the health care system did not take into consideration the specifics of the rehabilitation outpatient clinics operating by the sheltered work companies. The commission of the physicians employed in these institutions has been significantly limited. Today, they may only issue prescriptions for the medications refunded by the healthcare fund and to refer the patient to a hospital. Further regulatory changes, as anticipated, will reduce the occupational rehabilitation to an absolute minimum, which will result in the liquidation of rehabilitation outpatient clinics, the discontinuation of rehabilitation vacations and individual rehabilitation schemes, which are so essential in the treatment of patients suffering from psychoneurological disorders. In our opinion, the physicians at the rehabilitation outpatient clinics should be allowed to refer the patients to additional laboratory tests and to specialists. This would make the access to the specialized health care services easier for the disabled persons. It would also allow to carry out the primary laboratory diagnostics within the framework of the rehabilitation outpatient clinics. The disabled persons who are the patients of the Outpatient Clinic for Mental Diseases (mentally affected persons, persons with brain disorders, epileptics) are the weakest group within the handicapped community. This is not only because of the nature of their disorders, but also due to lack of acceptance in the environment and because their disability appeared at a very early age. This is why in this group of handicapped the chances for employment or retraining are rather limited. They would require professional occupational advisory services and training opportunities in order to gain new qualifications. Most handicapped in this group, however, would still need to be employed within the structures of a sheltered work company and to be offered specialized health care and rehabilitation at their place of work. In 1964, almost forty years ago, in our special issue on the 20th anniversary of Spółdzielnia Inwalidów "Świt", we wrote: "As the civilization develops and the pace of our life becomes faster and faster, the number of cases of nervous and psychic diseases grows, not only in our country but also worldwide. In Poland, the psychiatric hospitals and sanatoria for mentally affected treat about 100,000 patients every year. Many of them keep returning to the inpatient health care institutions, the reason for the recurrence of a disease being the sense of inferiority due to an unfriendly and suspicious attitude of the society. Occupational therapy provided by the psychiatric health care institutions brings no effects since the patients are depresses by the hospital atmosphere." Wouldn't it be reasonable to give a thought to this dictum? Your opinions will be most welcome. Maybe together we can still do many good and useful things in order to make the life of all the disabled persons better?