People have wondered if I was awake to welcome the New Year. I think it’s another way to find out if I’m old, like one of those trick long-term care job interview questions that would be illegal...
Gum control
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 07, 2016
I’m not surprised dementia is now being tied to gum disease. I have long believed the mouth offers a convenient and unflinching window to the soul, and that everything important about someone can...
Laces out
By
Gary Tetz
Jan 15, 2016
You think Five Star is bad? That cherry-picked data can lead to misinterpretation? That it’s unfair to be publicly vilified online, and perhaps eternally defined, by every little mistake? You’re...
You ‘Like’ me!
By
Gary Tetz
Oct 01, 2012
It’s not necessarily a bad thing, or a good one either — kind of like Rice-A-Roni or the music of Yanni. But instant customer feedback, and the expectation of immediate response and action is where...
Onward and upward — what’s motivating your job change?
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 21, 2014
After stealthily observing long-term care professionals in the wild for the past 15 years or so, I’ve come to see you as a perplexing and elusive study in contrasts. Perhaps you haven’t noticed...
Pig bladders, spiders and ponies — oh my!
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 20, 2017
Last time, I wrote about pig bladders, and how they can help bolster the courage of your convictions to innovatively solve any long-term care challenge. So I think you’re definitely ready for a frank...
No rockets’ red (or blue) glare
By
Gary Tetz
Oct 29, 2012
Like sitting in a tub of hot cocoa on the shore of an enchanted mountain lake while listening to a choir of violin-wielding angels. That’s about how it felt to spend some quality time last week at...
Journey of Heroes deserves showing, not telling
By
Gary Tetz
Dec 15, 2016
Every year about this time, I tell you eagerly and often weepily about “The Trip.” The one where 12 veterans, many of them from World War II and living in long-term care, get to hop on a plane...
Happy Long-Term Care Day!
By
Gary Tetz
Nov 17, 2017
I had a birthday recently. OK, more than just recently. Tuesday. My long-term care colleagues were kind, supportive and treated me to an exquisite lunch. But the rest I’ve had to deal with on my...
The blues drummers of long-term care
By
Gary Tetz
Jan 26, 2017
After witnessing a musical performance that left me amazed and stupefied, I went home with a flash of insight and a long-sought analogy — facility administrators are the blues drummers of long-term care.