Maybe the real reason some people don’t like gardening has little to do with the time and effort required, the proximity to deadly spiders or the pesky dirt under the nails. Maybe it’s the...
Am I man or mouse? Depends on your viewpoint
By
Gary Tetz
Mar 09, 2017
It’s shocking to realize the enduring power of the printed word. First I write a column about a giant, possibly rabid squirrel attacking innocent people in a Florida long-term care facility activity...
Grateful chickens
By
Gary Tetz
Dec 03, 2015
Chickens absolutely love Thanksgiving. At least on that one special day, they can finally breathe a little easier while chefs from humble homes to long-term care kitchens choose a larger bird for celebratory...
Naked crowd-funding — the salvation of long-term care
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 10, 2015
Crowdfunding isn’t the only way to raise money for a good cause, though it has recently netted one provider 60 televisions. Nudity is also an ever-attractive option.
Standing up for the camel — and your staff
By
Gary Tetz
Jun 01, 2017
Even the best managers can sometimes inadvertently make jobs more difficult than they have to be, often just out of habit or inattention.
Naïveté solves all LTC-related problems, studies do not show
By
Gary Tetz
Jun 03, 2016
Next to a cozy blanket or mug of cocoa, nothing quite soothes the soul like the calming embrace of pure naiveté. Perhaps that’s why more than one-third of Americans apparently believe Medicare will...
Five-Star profanity
By
Gary Tetz
Nov 19, 2015
“Well, gosh. Just my luck.” I don’t know for certain that’s how the Pennsylvania nursing home housekeeper responded after being fired for using bad language at work. But regardless,...
He came back
By
Gary Tetz
Jun 04, 2015
There’s a legendary photo of General Douglas MacArthur wading ashore upon a heroic return to the Philippines in World War II, and that’s what popped into my mind recently when I saw an elderly...
Biometric preening — dying is not good business
By
Gary Tetz
Nov 24, 2014
For success in long-term care, you want your employees to stay well, and especially not dead. If it isn’t already, that should probably be a primary component of your business plan. A dead staff...
Love is love
By
Gary Tetz
Feb 09, 2017
I don’t need hair. That’s my big takeaway from spending a morning with wise and wonderful Fernald recently. It’s not what I wear, or having a scalp as arid and vegetation-free as Death...