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Computer system puts senior center on cutting edge

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Photo by Bill Olmsted

Paula Schutt, right, director of The Gathering Place in Milton, watches as member Sylvia Rindahl uses her new computer key card for the first time Monday. The center’s new computer system allows members to log in and out of the building and keep track of programs they are involved in.

Photo

Photo by Bill Olmsted

Milton's Gathering Place has recently incorporated an electronic scanning system for patrons entering the building. The device helps get accurate information about numbers of visitors and program usage.

Photo

Photo by Bill Olmsted

Key cards swiped by this scanner help staff at The Gathering Place get accurate information about visitor numbers and program usage.

MILTON — Milton seniors know The Gathering Place offers fun activities.

Lately, the fun has started when they walk in the door.

"I'll be darned," Ken Cook, 68, said as he tried out the senior center's colorful, interactive software.

Instead of greeting the volunteer receptionist and going about his business, Cook swiped his new key card to sign in. He touched the activities he planned to do—lunch and pool—on the computer screen.

"It's neat how you just touch it, and you're ready to go," he said.

Director Paula Schutt has been pleased with the reaction so far to the center's "My Senior Center" computer system, she said.

"People seem to be kind of tickled by it," she said.

The system, which debuted Friday, is more than just a fun toy, she said. It helps the center plan activities and apply for grants.

Plus it shows the next generation of senior citizens—the baby boomers—that the center is a happening place, Schutt said.

"It lets them know that a senior center is not a place for 'old' people," she said. "We don't like that word."

The Gathering Place is the sixth center in the state to use the software, Schutt said.

"It establishes us as a leader in senior centers, and I think that's very important for The Gathering Place," she said.

Schutt learned about the system at a convention in September, she said. She hoped to get a grant in 2009 to cover the $15,000 in equipment but couldn't pass up a half-price sale in November.

The center's board agreed to pay $8,000 for equipment and training.

"The board saw that it was a good investment," Schutt said. "They're very forward-thinking."

The software can help the center get grants by providing accurate statistics about who uses the center and why. Before, staff relied on sign-in sheets, but it took time to count and organize the statistics, and members often forgot to sign in.

Now, the information is available at the touch of a button, Schutt said.

That information will help staff members know which activities are most popular so they can plan similar activities in the future, Schutt said. It offers an electronic schedule for each room and helps volunteers log their hours.

Plus, it's user-friendly, said Claudia Stine, 66.

"It's pleasant and (the screen) is huge," she said. "I mean, you can read it."