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Crucible Care
Safety & Clinical Framework

What your DON and clinical director need to know.

This page is designed for clinical sign-off review. It covers participant screening, session safety design, track placement criteria, safety documentation, and the assessment methodology used in every cohort.

How clinical decisions are made. This framework is the structure, tooling, and documentation Crucible Care provides. It is not medical advice and does not replace clinical judgment. Participant screening review, contraindication clearance, track placement sign-off, and final participation decisions are made by your facility’s licensed clinical staff and each resident’s care team. We supply the protocol and the paperwork; your clinicians own the calls.
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Scope of service

Crucible Care is a structured fitness and wellness program, not a medical service. Staff do not provide medical advice, diagnoses, or therapeutic interventions. The program does not replace physical therapy, occupational therapy, or nursing care.

Assessment data is fitness data. Not medical records. Residents with active medical conditions should have physician clearance before participating. The intake process documents this.

Crucible Care is designed to complement clinical services. Particularly PT discharge maintenance and general deconditioning prevention. Not to substitute for them.

01

Participant screening

  • Every participant completes a PAR-Q (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire) review before Week 1.
  • Residents with cardiac, pulmonary, or orthopedic contraindications are flagged during intake and reviewed individually before track placement.
  • Track placement is based on mobility level and fall-risk profile. Not self-report alone.
  • Residents who cannot safely participate in any track are not enrolled. The intake protocol includes explicit exclusion criteria.
02

Track placement criteria

Strength Track

Ambulatory residents with no significant recent fall history. Moderate baseline fitness. Can safely perform seated-to-standing movements independently.

Chair-Based Track

Wheelchair users, high fall-risk residents, early-to-moderate memory care, post-acute residents, or anyone for whom standing balance work is contraindicated. Sessions are entirely seated. 30-minute format.

Balance & Fall Prevention Track

Ambulatory residents with moderate fall risk or recent fall history. Balance-focused progressions. Requires activity staff or coach supervision throughout.

03

Session safety design

  • Every session begins with a structured warm-up (3–5 minutes, mobility and breathing-focused).
  • Every exercise has a seated or reduced-range regression. Chair is available as a safety net for all standing and balance work.
  • Written stop criteria are embedded in every session script: chest pain, dizziness, unusual shortness of breath, acute pain, or participant refusal triggers an immediate session stop and documentation.
  • Session plans include escalation protocol: staff contacts nursing if a stop-criterion event occurs.
  • No session involves floor-level work, jumping, rapid direction changes, or high-impact movements.
  • Progressive overload is gradual. Regressions are used before progressions.
04

Assessment safety

  • The Timed Up & Go (TUG) test is conducted with a staff member positioned at arm's reach.
  • Single-leg balance tests are performed near a wall or with a chair within reach. Residents with TUG >20s or who are assessed as high fall-risk are assessed with additional support.
  • Grip strength testing requires no mobility and carries minimal risk.
  • 30-second sit-to-stand is performed with a standard chair of appropriate height.
  • All assessment results are reviewed before the next training session. Significant outliers (e.g., TUG >20s at baseline) prompt a track placement review.

Safety documentation

Screening, release, and incident paperwork included.

Participant release template

Included in the onboarding package. Covers the scope of the fitness and wellness program and documents informed consent.

Intake screening documentation

PAR-Q form, track placement worksheet, and physician clearance request template (for flagged participants). All included.

Incident documentation template

A standardized incident report form for any stop-criterion events during sessions. Designed to be compatible with your facility's existing documentation requirements.

Scope of service

Crucible Care is a structured fitness and wellness program. It is not a medical service, does not provide clinical interventions, and does not replace physical therapy, occupational therapy, or nursing care.

Assessment methodology

Published frameworks, not proprietary scoring.

Risk thresholds and normative comparisons are drawn from two published frameworks your clinical team will recognize.

CDC STEADI

Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths & Injuries

Federal initiative providing evidence-based fall risk assessment tools and clinical guidance. TUG thresholds (>12s elevated, >14s high risk) and sit-to-stand normative data are drawn from STEADI guidelines.

Rikli & Jones Senior Fitness Test

Published normative data for adults 60–94

Standardized battery of functional fitness tests with published age- and sex-normed reference data. The 30-second chair stand test is the primary lower-body strength measure in this protocol.

Five assessments administered at baseline, week 6, and week 12

30-Sec Sit-to-Stand

Lower-body strength

Timed Up & Go

Mobility & gait

Grip Strength

Functional capacity

Single-Leg Balance

Postural control

Confidence Score

Fear of falling (self-report)

For clinical directors who want a deeper review.

We're available for a direct conversation with your DON, clinical director, or VP of wellness. Covers methodology, safety documentation, and integration with your existing care programs.

Schedule a clinical review callRequest the clinical one-pager (PDF)

Response within one business day.