There’s a hopeful phrase we started hearing a lot from long-term care leaders, residents and staff when the vaccines first arrived—“a light at the end of the tunnel.” Invariably some wise-guy or...
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...
Paul Revere rides again
By
Gary Tetz
Nov 12, 2020
Where is Paul Revere when we need him? It seems like he should be racing through every hamlet and long-term care facility in America shrieking, “The vaccine is coming! The vaccine is coming!”
Love in the air
By
Gary Tetz
Feb 20, 2020
Love was in the air this Valentine’s Day, and in the days before and after. Let me tell you the ways.
Doing the Jellyfish
By
Gary Tetz
May 16, 2019
While walking the beach this morning, on the Atlantic Coast where I’m taking an alleged vacation, I happened upon a marooned jellyfish left high and dry by the receding tide. Just a lifeless, weirdly...
Bring in the rocks
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 18, 2019
The troubling news that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is conducting a “comprehensive review” of nursing home regulations hit me like a truckload of giant boulders dropped on a homeless...
What must that be like?
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 04, 2019
“What must that be like?” It can serve as a mantra, helping us view each interaction, no matter how painful, with acceptance and resilience.
People read this stuff?
By
Gary Tetz
Mar 21, 2019
Will He Who Shall Not be Named start tweeting about me now? Will I get a pejorative nickname like Lyin’ Ted or Crooked HIllary? Testy Tetz perhaps?
Halloween — the ultimate staffing solution
By
Gary Tetz
Nov 01, 2018
Strolling with an adorable dog through my neighborhood at twilight last night was an eerie journey into the macabre. The neighbors’ yards have been scary for weeks — there’s an election going on,...
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...