Amerigroup, a Medicaid-managed care company that promotes healthier communities, recently donated $75,000 to Jackson State University for scholarships for students with health-related majors. Amerigroup presented the check to JSU President Thomas K. Hudson on Tuesday, March 16.

Students who apply for Amerigroup scholarships must be native Mississippians who commit to practicing in rural market areas for a minimum of three years post-graduation and maintain a minimum cumulative 3.3 grade point average or higher.

Amerigroup has been collaborating with other state groups such as the Mississippi Food Network, Mississippi Rural Health Association, University of Mississippi Medical Center and the Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi since 2020. For more information, visit amerigroup.com or jsums.edu.

USM Last Mile Education Fund Participating in Equality Can’t Wait Challenge

The Last Mile Education Fund, which University of Southern Mississippi professor Sarah Lee and two of her colleagues founded in 2019, recently became one of 10 finalists in the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge, which will grant three awards of $10 million each to organizations that enable women, particularly Black, Indigenous and other women of color, to shape policies and make decisions that will impact workplaces and communities.

Lee has served as director of USM’s School of Computing Sciences and Computer Engineering since 2020. She co-founded the Last Mile Education Fund with Ruthe Farmer, who serves as the fund’s chief executive officer, and Rian Walker, assistant vice president and information security analyst for Bank of America.

Last Mile boosts workplace diversity by ensuring that low-income students pursuing technology degrees can make it to graduation day and enter the workforce, a release from USM says. The fund identifies financially vulnerable women in computing majors and provides support against financial obstacles to their education.

Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation company, hosts the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge in partnership with MacKenzie Scott, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies and Lever for Change.

For more information about Last Mile, visit LastMile-ed.org. For information on the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge, visit equalitycantwaitchallenge.org.

MSU Faculty Bring Bingocize to Local Nursing Facilities

Mississippi State University kinesiology faculty members Zhujun Panare, Chih Chia Chen, John Lamberth and Ashley White recently brought a project to the university called "Bingocize," which aims to help residents in 24 Mississippi-certified nursing facilities to increase their activity and social engagement. Medicare and Medicaid donated $360,928 to the university's kinesiology faculty and students to aid 1,000 nursing home residents over the next three years.

Bingocize combines physical exercise and the game of bingo over the course of two weekly sessions. A session begins with a group of CNF residents sitting at tables with individual bingo cards in a spacious area, a release from MSU says. Residents complete a series of gentle range-of-motion exercises, after which the program leader calls a bingo letter and number combination. The pattern of movement and bingo calls continue until a participant wins the game. Additional games allow for completion of the exercises while keeping the residents’ interest.

Jason Crandall, associate professor of exercise science and kinesiology and co-director of the Center for Applied Science in Health and Aging at Western Kentucky University, originally created the concept of Bingocize and implemented the program in nursing homes in his area with support from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

For more information, visit educ.msstate.edu.