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Date: 7/19/2021
NORTHAMPTON – The Northampton Senior Center will begin its soft reopening process on Aug. 2 after all activities were suspended in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
To begin the reopening process, Northampton Senior Services Director Marie Westburg said she and her staff are setting up appointments with members to become reoriented with the center and its services.
“We are scheduling membership renewal appointments; we want everyone to update their paperwork for membership because we have some new systems in place, and we need to be able to do contract tracing. People are also redoing their fitness packets and will have to go through an orientation center for safety because we have been closed for so long,” she said. “We are basically giving each person a welcome back appointment.”
When the center first reopens, Westburg said it will offer refreshments and socialization with its game room.
“We will have refreshments; they will be able to check out an iPad if they want to use the internet, they can go in the games room and hang out with friends. As we are able, we are going to start adding activities so one of the first things we will probably do is start showing movies again,” she said.
Westburg said the soft reopening will be a precursor to a larger return to activities in September but many core services will be available in August including the fitness center.
“It is really a welcome back and reorientation in August before there will be more groups and activities starting up in September. We will have the fitness center open in August by appointment once people get their reorientation with the machines,” she said.
With programs and activities returning in September, Westburg said she and her staff are developing hybrid models for many of them.
“I think people are anxious to get back to their lives but also there are still a lot of people who are nervous about COVID. We are going to be developing a lot of hybrid options for programming so people can participate from home when they need to or want to,” she said.
One of the reasons Westburg said the center must pace its opening is because of four vacancies on the staff.
“I do not have a full staff yet, hiring right now has been difficult because there are not a lot of applicants and I have four staff people I need to hire. We need to pace our opening over August because of that as well,” she said.
Currently Westburg said Central Services is moving furniture and equipment back into the Senior Center after it was removed to allow the center to operate as a vaccination site.
“Central Services is still emptying the storage containers that are in our parking lot and bringing our furniture back in because the whole building was essentially emptied. We are putting the whole building back together because 32,000 people came through here to get vaccinated,” she said.
Westburg added that the floors are also being redone and the center’s systems are being updated on top of discussions with group liaisons and recruiting volunteers.
She said she is excited to see everyone come back and enjoy the services the Senior Center offers.
“I think it is going to be nice to see how everyone is enjoying being back, seeing each other and having fun. A lot of people came here to socialize and be with their peers, there was a real positive, creative energy here before we shut down and I think that will return quickly,” Westburg said.
Starting on Aug. 2, the Northampton Senior Center will be open on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.