Exercise Prescription & Programming

can anyone please recommend geriatric assessment format for clinical exercise physiologist, that can to be used in assisted living facility.

The Senior Fitness Test Battery is an excellent resource, there's even a journal/book written produced by Humn Kinectics. But if you're not looking to purchase a new book I did see that you got your Master from LU. One book they used in your Masters classes was Advanced Fitness Assessment and Ex Prescription by Gibson et AL has all the tests in that manual. Specifically for ALF you want to be able to assess at a quick pace in a small area with limited equipment. You'll have residents with dementia so you need very short tests but to attention span. In the ALF setting the best tests to assess strength, mobility and balance are the 30 second chair rise, the Timed up and Go and the standing reach. These can all be done quickly going door to door with limited equipment. Use scholarly articles, they are your friend. Specifically look up Fox Rehabilitation out of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. There are some scholarly articles written by some of their therapists with the efficacy of utilizing these tests in an ALF setting. I worked for that company for almost 9 years conducting these assessment tests in ALFs and ILFs. They work great.

Thank you Amy for the info.

There is a plethora of validated tests available: Berg, FAB-10, FAI (Functional Aging Institute), Tinetti, Rhomberg, Gait Speed, etc. PLUS modifications of a multitude of athletic performance tests.

✅✅ BOTTOM LINE: “the purpose of any screen or assessment is to determine where success ends, and failure begins.” (From Gray Cook at Functional Movement Systems, creator of the FMS)

✅ Adults move to Assisted Living for a multitude of reasons; some residents NEED minimal assistance; others border on shifting towards skilled nursing care.

✅ ‘What matters most’ to the resident needs to be the focus of training. Where are they struggling? The ADLs? Do they thrive on getting outdoors, even with a walker? In a wheelchair?

✅ Sure, find a baseline. More importantly, if you are going to each resident’s apartment, you can observe where they are struggling. And ask them? What do you want to be able to do better without assistance?

✅ But adding QOL, more freedom to move better for longer, with some semblance of independence & dignity is ‘what matters most’ to each resident.

✅ NEVER lose sight of that!