PEABODY – Everyday, dozens of North Shore senior citizens receive an automated phone call that asks in a computerized voice, “Are you OK?” Now some of those seniors could get the calls from an enhanced and more cost-effective computer program, often referred to as “Reverse 911.”In communities including Nahant and Swampscott, police departments adopted a program, called Are You Okay? about four years ago. For the seniors who sign up, they receive an automated phone call daily that asks the question. If the person doesn’t pick up the phone after the third call, a police officer is sent to his or her home to make sure the resident is OK.In Swampscott, police credit the program with helping to save an Orchard Circle woman last year after she fell, broke her hip and was unable to answer the call from Are You Okay. In another incident on Parsons Drive, an object fell on a woman’s head in her laundry room and police found her lying on the floor after she didn’t answer the third phone call.While police officers in both communities praise the program for saving lives, some local officials are persuading police departments in other communities to forgo Are You Okay to instead purchase an expanded, mass-calling system often called “Reverse 911,” a trademarked computer program that can not only make daily phone calls to senior citizens to check on their well being, but can also place calls to thousands of residents with recorded messages in a short amount of time in the event of an emergency, such as a gas leak or snow parking ban.Debbie McGregor, director of the Community Awareness and Prevention Team at the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, says with added features and fewer software problems, a Reverse 911-like system will save municipal budgets money in the long run.Are You Okay “is a costly program and you need a dedicated computer for it,” McGregor said. “People were having issues trying to fix the software. I think the software over the years has become older and harder to fix.”The Nahant Police Department, which uses Are You Okay, paid $15,000 to make the original purchase of the program in 2003 and pays an additional $2,000 per year to maintain it, according to Lt. Tom Hutton. However, the town must also pay $13,000 to purchase updated software for Are You Okay, which doesn’t have a mass-calling feature like Reverse 911.”Personally, I’d love to see the Reverse 911,” Hutton said.Peabody and Revere recently began using a Reverse 911-type program, while Saugus and Lynn police say they’re looking into getting one.In 2007, the Reverse 911-type program cost the Peabody $34,600 to purchase from Sigma Communications in Indianapolis after the city negotiated a three-year contract. The company offers free maintenance for the first year, then $3,800 per year for the next two years, according to city records.Sigma operates an out-of-state calling center, which can place thousands of calls to Peabody residents listed in a phone bank at one time. According to Peabody Police Chief Robert Champagne, a 40-second recording sent to 35,000 phones would take about 30 minutes go out.The Salem Police Department already has mass-calling system, which was put to use following a fatal car accident during the height of rush hour June 13, 2007 on Highland Avenue. Residents were told to avoid the area during traffic gridlock.”It’s the best thing we ever did,” said Salem Police Capt. John Jodoin, who helped adopt the system for the city. “The cost of it is well worth it with one major incident. We wonder how we ever got along without it before.”Champagne says it’s too early to tell if Reverse 911 is an accomplishment in his city because it was only installed a few months ago, but believes it will be, considering the successes the program has had in other communities, including Danvers and Andover.”Technology is developing so quickly. We have capacities that we’ve never had before,” Champagne said.In addition to placing the mass phone calls, officials s