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...
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...
Beyond the love meter
By
Gary Tetz
Mar 07, 2024
Love may be a many splendored thing, but it can also be elusive, at least in my experience. So when I read in McKnight’s about new “love meter” technology now available, my mind whirled with possibilities. ...
Trail banter, long-term care style
By
Gary Tetz
Jun 02, 2022
For lots of good reasons, a long-term care facility hallway should not be the same as a hiking trail. Protruding rocks and exposed tree roots would create a fall hazard, and make med cart navigation...
Don’t look left: Finding long-term care lessons in traffic
By
Gary Tetz
Feb 24, 2022
If you’ve read many of my McKnight’s columns over the years, you know I love to draw long-term care lessons from traffic experiences.
The positive wake-up call
By
Gary Tetz
Nov 03, 2022
Generally, I’m a law-abiding citizen. If I have a good reason, I’ll occasionally violate a minor rule or two, but nothing significant. I don’t do much murder, for instance,
Curse of the blue-blockers
By
Gary Tetz
Dec 16, 2021
I’ve suffered with poor vision for most of my adult life. Sometimes at intersections, I have to actually get out of the car and feel the letter ridges on a road sign to confirm my location. So when I...
Bad news, it’s worse than we thought
By
Gary Tetz
Feb 08, 2024
A mere couple of blogs ago, I shared my concern, based on excellent McKnight’s reportage, that seniors are becoming just as addicted to their devices as young people. That seemed shocking, given our...
The hypocrisy of staffing mandates
By
Gary Tetz
Oct 19, 2023
Absorbed as you probably are in fighting through the long-term care staffing crisis while parrying a CMS mandate, I wouldn’t blame you for not noticing. But at airports across America, big planes are...