Indianapolis, Indiana – In order to help staff serve residents in the dining hall, since December of 2021, Hoosier Village has used robots.
The executive director of the retirement community, Mindy Kantz, says it’s the first type of technology like this in the Midwest. “What we didn’t want to do was replace our staff, but enhance their ability to perform and provide the hospitality services,” Kantz said. “We have two robots and we’ll use them indefinitely.”
According to Kantz, the robots are programmed to go right up to a table with food ready to go.
Ralph Oelke, a three-and-a-half-year resident of the community, says the robots are fun and provide great service. “I think when people see these for the first time they’re in awe. When the grandchildren see these for the first time they actually scream with delight. That’s happened here before. It’s something new and it’s right out of a comic book,” Oelke said.
Hoosier Village should spend a couple of thousand dollars each month.
According to Kantz, the next step is to name them.
