Here’s an innovative new way, and maybe the only one you haven’t already tried, to make sure more people visit your lonely nursing home residents. Sentence them to do it.
The smiling robot
By
Gary Tetz
May 16, 2024
When I was still a prepubescent boy with many questions, never once did my father take me aside and explain how smiles are made. As a result, I’ve always been a terrible smiler, simply because I never...
Hey, did ya hear the one about the quasi-experimental humor therapy study?
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 31, 2014
Have you ever heard an eldercare researcher tell a joke? It can be a painful experience. No simple knock-knock. No guy walking into a bar.
We don’t have any frogs. Now go away.
By
Gary Tetz
Mar 09, 2023
In a cruel twist of fate, I spent the past weekend in Las Vegas. Now, before I say more, I need to be clear: I love the people of Vegas, the long-term care facilities of Vegas, the long-term care staff...
Of mice and men — and beer
By
Gary Tetz
Sep 25, 2014
Over a beer one day, tipsy researchers decided to study … beer. Now, before you install a keg in every nurses’ station in every memory care unit, you should know that they didn’t exactly...
How do you compare to McDonald’s?
By
Gary Tetz
Jun 06, 2013
Maybe your dining program can’t compete with McDonald’s for sheer speed, pseudo nutrition and potentially hazardous toys. But how does your disaster response plan compare? That’s the...
Grateful chickens
By
Gary Tetz
Dec 03, 2015
Chickens absolutely love Thanksgiving. At least on that one special day, they can finally breathe a little easier while chefs from humble homes to long-term care kitchens choose a larger bird for celebratory...
Naked crowd-funding — the salvation of long-term care
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 10, 2015
Crowdfunding isn’t the only way to raise money for a good cause, though it has recently netted one provider 60 televisions. Nudity is also an ever-attractive option.
Uber-terrified by technology
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 16, 2015
I was scared, I’ll admit it. I had never used it before. It was all so intimidating and new. The old system worked fine for me, and I was comfortable with its inadequacies. You might think I’m...
In a death-phobic nation, long-term care embraces the ultimate privilege
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 21, 2022
Some in long-term care wake up thinking of pay cuts, business survival or reform. Me? I awoke this morning thinking about cremation.