Center for Applied Science in Health and Aging News

In August 2019, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Tennessee Department of Public Health awarded the WKU Center for Applied Science in Health & Aging (CASHA) a 3-year, Civil Money Penalty (CMP) grant to support the use of Bingocize^® – a strategic combination of exercise and the game of bingo – in 40 Certified Nursing Facilities (CNF) across the state of Tennessee. Recently, the CASHA team proposed a project expansion to implement the Bingocize^® program to 60 additional CNF and was awarded new grant funding of $504,000. This brings the total funding for this project to almost $1,008,000.  

The CASHA team is led by Dr. Jason Crandall, co-Director and Associate Professor of Exercise Science (EXS), who created  the Bingocize® program in 2011.   Crandall remarked, “We are excited The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Tennessee Department of Public Health will help us to implement the Bingocize® program in 100 certified nursing homes”. Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences and co-Director of CASHA, Dr. Matthew Shake, is joining the   project to help achieve the following three project objectives over the 3-year project period:  

Objective 1: An additional 420 CNF staff (project total of 700 CNF staff) will demonstrate skill and knowledge to lead Bingocize® with CNF residents over the 3-year grant.

Objective 2: 12 faculty members and 400 students from six Tennessee universities will assist CNF staff to implement Bingocize® in their facilities.

Objective 3: An additional 2,700 CNF residents (project total 4,500) from 100 total CNF will participate in Bingocize®.

A lack of social engagement and physical activity may contribute to a continued decline in functional mobility, activities of daily living (ADLs), and an increase in fall risk in certified nursing facility (CNF) residents. According to the Centers for Disease Control, nursing home residents account for about 20% of deaths from falls in adults over 65 years of age. Therefore, there is a significant need for easy-to-use and enjoyable CNF activities capable of increasing daily social engagement, improving functional health, and decreasing social isolation.

 The Bingocize® program consists of two 45-60 minute sessions each week. A session begins with a group of CNF residents sitting at tables with individual bingo cards. Trained CNF staff members, with help from trained university students, serve as program leaders. The residents complete a series of gentle physical exercises followed by the program leader calling a bingo letter/number combination. Exercises focus on improving components of functional mobility such as strength, range of motion, and balance.

With help from the CASHA team, CNF residents will be recruited from each facility to participate in two Bingocize^® sessions per week. The project measures of success will be evaluated by 1) tracking the number of trained CNF staff and faculty/students, 2) tracking the number of residents in attendance at each of the participating CNF, and 3) assessing CNF residents’ direct improvement in bed mobility, transfer, toilet use, eating and the number of falls.