Ann Smith Elementary is fortunate to have Leza Sims, RN, take care of our students when they become ill. But Nurse Sims does more than just pass out bandages and take students’ temperature. She also works with our teachers and students to help them make healthy food choices. She demonstrates the importance of good nutrition through simple classroom experiments that teach students how the digestive system works. And she's helped bring programs like the MSU Extension Service's Body Walk, a 40-ft. by 40-ft. walk-through exhibit representing the human body, to our school.

During the spring of 2011, Nurse Sims recognized the signs of diabetes in a student. After listening to the teacher and student describe the symptoms, she got the mother’s permission to administer a simple blood sugar test on the child, which showed a dangerously elevated blood sugar level. The student is now being treated for diabetes and Nurse Sims has provided invaluable support to this student, as well as to other students and staff members with diabetes.