I’m feeling extremely unsettled lately. On edge. Anxious. It’s not the threat of rising sea levels, or the erosion of public confidence in the integrity of Nightly News anchors, or the possibility...
Swearing good, drinking bad
By
Gary Tetz
Feb 23, 2023
Last time out here, I gave long-term care professionals official permission to swear, making the case, with strong scientific support, that an occasional obscenity is actually healthy. I assume for most...
Celebrating poise and positivity in chaos
By
Gary Tetz
Jan 12, 2023
At the end of a long shift on Christmas Eve, two CNAs are chatting in the facility parking lot. “Rough day,” says one. “A family member yelled at me about problems I can’t solve and things that...
Let there not be light
By
Gary Tetz
Nov 17, 2022
It’s the first command in the Biblical creation story — let there be light. But if you’re working a night shift in a long-term care facility, I need you to stop reading this right now and go turn...
Scattering seeds
By
Gary Tetz
Nov 15, 2018
It was my birthday yesterday — the same day I found out that Fernald, a World War II veteran and one of the wisest, bravest and most adorable people I’ve ever known, had passed away.
The great eclipse
By
Gary Tetz
Aug 11, 2017
We’ve seen many partial political eclipses over the years created by both parties, where selfish interests and ambitions seem to blind them to the possibility of solving actual challenges together.
Surefire warning signs that you’re living a long-term care nightmare
By
Gary Tetz
May 03, 2018
Have you ever had a long-term care nightmare? Not the waking kind, where some horrifying facility crisis leaves you muttering, “This is a nightmare.” I’m talking about a real one, the...
The Sasha Experience
By
Gary Tetz
Feb 27, 2014
It’s been a rough day for good customer service, and since you live and work in a profession dependent upon it, I’m sharing these still raw and painful experiences because I believe they’ll...
Coping with COVID-19, the beard and Chuck Norris
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 30, 2020
While long-term care workers I’ve interviewed have been grateful and positive during the COVID-19 pandemic, my coping mechanisms could be considered somewhat less constructive and helpful.
The killer hiding on the porch
By
Gary Tetz
May 19, 2022
I’m not easily surprised these days, because…everything. But I just stumbled across an astonishing bit of data.