LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Carolyn Milton was nominated by one of her colleagues.

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference has never tried to fall asleep with a mosquito in the room."   -Christine Todd Whitman

"Carolyn Milton is too humble to think that she makes a difference, but in reality, she has made a difference in the lives of many students and staff members," said her colleague.

Ms. Milton has worked for the Tangipahoa Parish School System as a school nurse for 18 years. During her first five years of working for TPSS, she was assigned to various schools in the district. In 2008, she was assigned to Ponchatoula High School, where she continues to serve as the school nurse and is most commonly referred to as Nurse Milton. Ponchatoula High School is located in Ponchatoula, LA. It's a large rural school that has a population of approximately 1800 students in grades 9-12

"As I begin to describe all of Nurse Milton's duties, it will be easy to see that she must be super woman to handle all of her professional responsibilities," explains her colleague.

To begin with, Ponchatoula High School has 337 students who are identified as being part of the special education population, as well as an additional 102 students who have educational plans referred to as 504 plans. The vast majority of these students have health issues that require a health plan. Nurse Milton writes all of these health plans and attends the IEP/504 meetings as required by law.

Nurse Milton oversees and/or delivers direct medical care to multiple students on a daily basis. She is responsible for two students who must be tube-fed, one student who must be catheterized, and eight students who have insulin-dependent diabetes. Three of the students with diabetes wear constant glucose monitors that are synced with Nurse Milton’s personal cell phone. She receives notifications if these students’ blood sugar levels are too high or low. All of the students with diabetes must also report to the nurse’s office two to three times a day to have their blood sugar and food intake monitored and recorded. In addition to these medical issues, there are students who take daily medication in the nurse’s office, as well as 30 students who have medicines available in the nurse’s office that are administered on an as-needed basis. In addition to medications in pill format, there are numerous students on campus who have inhalers and EpiPens which must be kept in and administered in the nurse’s office.

Nurse Milton completes employee accident and injury reports. The student and employee incident reports must be completed and filed with the risk manager at the school board office. The athletic injury reports must be filed with the North Oaks Hospital sports trainer, the risk manager at the school board office, and the parents of the injured student athlete. Some of these reports must be filed as a result of a fight between the students. Nurse Milton often gets called to the scene of an altercation to deliver needed medical care and provide documentation of any injuries.

COVID-19 has added a whole new level of work to Nurse Milton’s already hectic schedule. There is a tremendous amount of paperwork required to track and monitor students who test positive for COVID-19. Seventy-eight students at PHS have tested positive for COVID-19 during this school year (9 weeks), and 300 students have been required to quarantine. This pandemic has also created or exasperated many mental health issues for the students. Several times a week, Nurse Milton is called upon to lead a mental health assessment meeting regarding a student who is expressing suicidal thoughts or making threats toward others. These meetings can be quite lengthy and many times result in the student being removed from school temporarily and placed into a secure facility. When the student returns from a secure placement, Nurse Milton attends the required meeting to assist in developing a safety plan for the student. Her professionalism and leadership in these meetings have saved students from terrible outcomes.

Despite the level of responsibility that her job demands, Nurse Milton consistently maintains a nurturing and caring environment in her office. She maintains an open door policy that encourages everyone to seek her guidance and expertise. Students come to her for everything including a band-aid, feminine products, an ice pack, and a shoulder to cry on. Her expertise and guidance is not limited to the students’ needs; many times she is assessing stressed-out staff members’ blood pressure while lending a caring ear for their concerns.

One day, the custodian was in one of the offices that Nurse Milton happened to be in, and she mentioned that she did not feel well. Nurse Milton told her to come to her office if she continued to feel unwell. Later in the day, the custodian stopped by the nurse’s office and expressed that she had the worst headache of her life. After assessing the custodian’s condition, Nurse Milton determined that what she was experiencing was life-threatening, and initiated a 911 call. The lady was immediately taken to the local hospital and had emergency surgery for a brain aneurysm. Nurse Milton’s quick thinking, compassion, and medical expertise literally saved her life.

Nurse Milton has received awards that recognized just a little of what she has done as a school nurse for the Tangipahoa Parish School System. She currently serves as the Team Leader for the nurses in the southern area of the local school system. She received the “Top Nurse” award for the Tangipahoa District Nurse’s Association which includes nurses from both the private and public sectors. She also received the 2018 Above and Beyond Award for the Tangipahoa Parish School System as a result of saving the life of a school custodian.

"As evidenced by all these facts, Carolyn Milton exemplifies characteristics of a LifeChanger every day and is most deserving of the LifeChanger of the Year Award," said her colleague.