I wouldn’t say mine was a fire-and-brimstone childhood, but I lay awake plenty of nights awaiting the imminent wrath of a vengeful deity. Since then, the concept of judgment has always been top of mind.
Passion isn’t enough
By
Gary Tetz
Jan 31, 2024
With each facility tour you give and prospective admission you consider, never forget that families like mine, whose hearts are breaking, cling desperately to every word and promise.
A gaggle of Garys
By
Gary Tetz
Nov 02, 2023
I’m still not sure if it was intended as a loving tribute or blatant mockery, since I don’t possess the power to pierce the opacity of the human heart and discern anyone’s true motives. But nine...
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...
Up from the ashes
By
Gary Tetz
Sep 08, 2022
With the president of AHCA predicting a difficult 2023, it confirmed just how tough a slog the road back from the darkest days of the pandemic will likely continue to be for long-term care. But if we’re...
Don’t spring a wellness leak
By
Gary Tetz
May 18, 2023
In a valiant attempt to achieve maximum personal and professional potential, and in support of her difficult job recruiting long-term care staff, a colleague of mine chooses one word every year on which...
Finally, a pod-based staffing solution
By
Gary Tetz
Jan 26, 2023
Finding warm-ish, semi-qualified bodies is just part of the long-term care staffing challenge. Without being psychic or subjecting each applicant to a full, military-grade psychological evaluation, how...