There are many things that set our senior fitness program apart, but one of the most compelling is our impressive database and reporting system. In our last blog post, we told you about our participation reports. This post, we want to share our Testing Reports. When we first begin a class in a new community, we complete a Baseline Fitness Assessment of all our participants during the second week of class. These assessments include Balance, Strength (Upper and Lower Body) and Flexibility. Unlike many of the fitness assessments for seniors you may see online, we have custom-designed our tests to ensure that we are able to accurately test all of our participants. For instance, most balance tests involve having the participant stand on one leg, but, many of our participants may not be able to stand on two legs without assistance. We are able to test all of our participants (just like we are able to tailor our exercises to accommodate all ability levels).
Following the baseline test, we then complete a thorough round of fitness assessments twice per year in all of our Wellness Certified communities. Upon completion of testing, community administration is provided with a thorough analysis of their communities’ testing results. The Class Test Report for Mainstreet Village (right) is an actual example of their most recent test data that was shared with their administration (Participant Names on this report were hidden to protect privacy).
Like our Class Participant Reports, our Class Test Reports provide valuable data for our communities to assess individual and group progress. They also provide tangible marketing data that our communities can use to set their community apart from the community down the street. They have proof that they are providing effective fitness activities for their residents with the goal towards providing growth in areas that allow their residents to maintain independence – live healthier, stay longer!
These reports are also valuable for our Regional Owners and Trainers, in that they provide concrete evidence of areas for improvement. For example, in the report on the right (click report for a larger view), we could see scores for Balance and Lower Body were doing great, but there would be opportunities to concentrate on Upper Body Strengthening exercises, and perhaps increased Stretching to improve Flexibility.
These reports can also help assess individual growth and challenges. This is especially useful in circumstances where an individual may be beginning to struggle with specific daily tasks, because these results can show if there has been a decrease in a corresponding area.
Among Assisted Living and Memory Care classes, there may occasionally be family members who are interested in tracking their loved ones’ individual results due to health concerns or to report to a physician or caregiver. These reports can be requested on an individual basis directly from the Regional Owner, who can provide individualized information as well.
