With all the issues you face in long-term care, it doesn’t surprise me you’ve never given a moment’s thought to one of the great travesties of modern civilization — that there’s...
Things I Think: Champions of change
By
Gary Tetz
Nov 02, 2018
In long-term care, massive change is always afoot. Whatever was true 20 minutes ago isn’t anymore, and the new normal will be an unrecognizable stranger by nightfall. But there’s one thing that hasn’t...
Things I Think: Everybody hurts, everybody cries
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 04, 2019
I doubt the R in R.E.M. stands for rehab, but that rock band spoke truth with the song, “Everybody Hurts” in 1992. Experiencing physical pain is clearly disclosed in the fine print of being human,...
Still a perfect couple
By
Gary Tetz
May 04, 2016
Hard as it seems to believe after 17 years of vocationally wedded bliss, there was a time when long-term care and I weren’t together. It’s sobering to consider.
Passion over page views
By
Gary Tetz
Jun 05, 2015
I love technology. I’m using some right now. It’s technology, after all, that translates brain waves and finger twitches and makes it possible for me to tell you how much I love technology....
Care like the tire man
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 02, 2012
It wasn’t the worst start I’ve ever had, but it wasn’t good. My wife woke up sick and my dog woke up whining, or maybe it was the other way around. It’s all such a blur.
What the fires can’t destroy
By
Gary Tetz
Sep 17, 2020
With a pandemic continuing unabated, and now hurricanes, floods and wildfires ravaging large swaths of the nation, I don’t know how many more apocalyptic horsemen the long-term care profession is...
Behind the chins
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 17, 2019
The adorable old folks sat in a circle, exhibiting varying levels of cognition, alertness and physical decay. A kind lady walked around the room offering juice and snacks.
Hand wringing about hand washing
By
Gary Tetz
Sep 12, 2013
Now that we know many nursing homes don’t meet hand-washing guidelines, let the hand-wringing begin. Hopefully with a generous squirt of anti-microbial sanitizer in the palm first.
No more muddling along
By
Gary Tetz
Feb 10, 2022
It’s become a ritual, and I recently realized it probably needs to stop. Most every morning as I glide past our delightful receptionist on the way to my office, our daily dance of greeting goes something...