TIFT COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) - A Tift County guardian is speaking out, claiming her 9-year-old grandson with Type 1 diabetes has faced repeated gaps in care at school despite district assurances that every campus is staffed with a full-time nurse.

Tift County Schools says every campus is staffed with a full-time nurse and trained personnel to handle student medical needs.

However, a guardian of a 9-year-old student with Type 1 diabetes says her grandson has experienced repeated gaps in care, raising questions about how those policies are working in practice.

The child’s guardian says her grandson, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2022, requires constant monitoring and timely insulin management throughout the school day. She claims there have been multiple instances where trained staff or a nurse were not available, leading to delays in care.

“The bigger issue is not having enough nursing staff, consistent care for my grandson,” she said.

Felicia Howard said her grandson’s blood sugar can shift throughout the day, requiring close attention. “He’s a type 1 diabetic, and he requires 24-7 care and has to be closely monitored all day long,” she said. “Blood sugars are up and down all day. No day is the same… and it’s a serious condition that requires attention.”

Howard claims the school has not “consistently” monitored him to make sure his blood sugar isn’t too high or too low, and said he should not be left alone when he needs help. “Providing adequate assistance… means not leaving him alone or sending him to the office alone, whether it’s high or low,” she said.

Howard said the stress has reached a breaking point at home. “I’m not even comfortable anymore with him being at school now,” she said, adding that her grandson has told her, “Granny, please just don’t leave me today.”

CJ also shared how he feels when his blood sugar drops or spikes while at school. “I’m scared because I just don’t feel good no more after it drops or it gets high,” he said. When asked if the nurses always help, CJ said, “Sometimes they just tell me to eat something… and sometimes they don’t.” He added, “It drops more and then they just don’t come after that. I just got to keep eating things.”

Howard said she has had to go to the school multiple times in a day to check on him. “There were times that I would have to go to the school two or three times a day just to check on him to make sure he’s okay,” she said. Howard said the situation has impacted her ability to keep a steady job. “Can’t even work a stable job because I have to leave all the time due to this issue,” she said.

Howard believes the problem is tied to staffing and communication when one nurse is responsible for multiple students. “There’s supposed to be a team, but when you can’t communicate and get somebody on the phone, that’s not consistent care,” she said.

Howard said she wants a solution and more consistent, trained support on campus. “We need some more nurses that are knowledgeable,” she said, adding that even if it is not a nurse, the district needs “someone that’s trained, that can be on-site as an extra person to kind of help out… because one nurse cannot see about all of those children.”

In response to questions from WALB, Tift County Schools outlined its policies and staffing levels, stating that student health and safety are a priority.

Full district response:“Thank you for your inquiry. While we strive to be as transparent as possible, federal and state privacy laws prohibit the district from sharing any personal information related to a student’s educational record, including health information. Protecting the privacy and confidentiality of our students remains a top priority.

With this in mind, the information provided in the responses below reflects the policies and procedures in place across all of our schools.

Tift County Schools, with the support of our Board of Education, prioritizes healthcare for our students. In the current fiscal year, the state provided Tift County Schools with $175,000 to fund school nurses, which pays for roughly 2.5 nurses per year for the entire school system. We utilize local tax dollars to allocate one nurse per school, at a minimum. Tift County Schools currently employs 14 full-time nurses and 1 district nurse supervisor.

Yes, there is at least one full-time nurse allocated to each school.

To help ensure continuity of student health services, Tift County Schools has three substitute nurses who are called upon to provide coverage when a full-time nurse is absent. If a substitute is not available, the floater nurse or the district nurse supervisor will cover.

Each school maintains an internal response team comprised of trained personnel prepared to respond to a range of medical emergencies, including anaphylaxis, use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in instances of sudden cardiac arrest, asthma attacks, and seizures. In compliance with state mandates, a minimum of two staff members at each school are trained in diabetes care.

No, all positions are currently filled.

The district nurse supervisor participates in all 504 meetings involving students with identified medical conditions. In addition, the district nurse supervisor facilitates Individualized Health Plan (IHP) meetings, working collaboratively with the school nurse, parents/guardians, and school staff to ensure comprehensive and coordinated care.

Procedures are in place at each school to ensure a timely response to student health needs, and any concerns brought forward are addressed promptly at the school and district level.”

Despite those policies, Howard maintains her concerns remain unresolved and says she is speaking out in hopes of preventing similar situations for other students.

“This is not just about my grandson,” she said. “There are other kids who need help too.”

Tift County Schools did not comment on any specific student situation, citing privacy laws.

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