After witnessing a musical performance that left me amazed and stupefied, I went home with a flash of insight and a long-sought analogy — facility administrators are the blues drummers of long-term care.
Up in the air, and up on the ground
By
Gary Tetz
Aug 25, 2016
This isn’t just a story about the World War II veteran who got to fly again, inspiring though it most certainly was. I know, because I was there — holding a video camera, unsteadily at times, as...
The life-changing magic of ABBA-ing up
By
Gary Tetz
Jan 12, 2017
Even though I’ve decided not to make my usual naïve New Year’s recommendations to veteran long-term care professionals, maybe a quick review of some important industry news from the profession’s...
Better together
By
Gary Tetz
Nov 30, 2023
An hour or so before the siren in our long-term care factory blasted the official start of the work day, and feeling a heightened level of job-related stress, I strolled into a colleague’s office uninvited...
Cue the banjo player (you won’t regret it)
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 28, 2016
So anyway, speaking of aging, I got to spend Sunday evening with a delightful old guy named Steve — a spry, perfectly adorable gentleman with a Mike Pence hairdo who plays the banjo and seems to have...
Two sheets to the win
By
Gary Tetz
Jun 30, 2022
Infinite call-center wait times. Delivery mix-ups and delays. Rude responses to reasonable requests. Promises unfulfilled. I hear there’s a cutting-edge business principle called “the customer is always...
Lord of the Rings
By
Gary Tetz
Mar 04, 2021
After mocking wearers of Apple watches not so long ago, citing an annoying interaction that took place in a nursing home lobby, I finally got one myself. I realize this makes me a hypocrite, and I’m...
Finding joy in the grueling now
By
Gary Tetz
Aug 06, 2020
Finding joy in the difference you make is perhaps all the inspiration any of us needs.
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...