A friend of mine had grown concerned about the condition of her mother, who is a resident at a skilled nursing facility in another state. It tears at her heart being so far away, and she doesn’t get...
Wake-up call from a broken glass
By
Gary Tetz
Sep 20, 2018
In an ego-driven, impermanent world where possessions masquerade as precious, every genuine human interaction matters and no effort is ever wasted. The kitchen has been swept and the broken remains of...
Poor, poor pitiful me
By
Gary Tetz
Sep 06, 2018
When I ask rehab patients about the precipitating event that brought them to therapy, they can at least answer the question. Maybe they tripped on a zucchini vine, slipped on a grape in the grocery store...
Long-term care in the land of ‘Sorry’
By
Gary Tetz
Aug 23, 2018
People often ask me what long-term care is like in Canada.* Trying to keep the peace, I usually answer, “Different.” I choose this passive path because a) I’m Canadian, so it’s...
The inevitable is here
By
Gary Tetz
Aug 09, 2018
Staffing is inadequate and erratic at many of the nation’s nursing homes?
Global sand shortage threatens long-term care
By
Gary Tetz
Aug 09, 2018
Did you know we’re experiencing a global sand shortage right now? Please don’t panic, however. This only affects long-term care if your existing properties or future projects require glass...
Escape from the blinking light
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 26, 2018
It sits on the facility reception desk, blinking bright purple as I approach, but somehow escapes my initial notice. After all, I have so very many things — urgent things, funny things, deeply profound...
Lessons under anesthesia
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 12, 2018
Nothing ever makes me feel more empathy for those we care for than my own occasional reluctant forays into our American healthcare pseudo-system. I just walked a mile in somebody else’s figurative...
Park in the Visitor spot
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 09, 2018
It sits, beckoning but unattainable, just outside the entrance to your long-term care facility — the Visitor parking spot. You can see it, but don’t dare use it. Every day, in big, block letters,...
Dangers in the night
By
Gary Tetz
Jun 28, 2018
In the long-term care profession, we exist to provide care to vulnerable seniors, and like the rest of us, they tend to exist 24/7.