Finding warm-ish, semi-qualified bodies is just part of the long-term care staffing challenge. Without being psychic or subjecting each applicant to a full, military-grade psychological evaluation, how...
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...
On Prancer, on Crasher …
By
Gary Tetz
Dec 22, 2022
At this festive time of year, it’s all-too-easy to be charmed and delighted by visions of reindeer leaping from rooftops and scampering across the sky. But before we let such images cloud our judgment,...
Prolonging life, one smile at a time
By
Gary Tetz
Dec 08, 2022
I think it’s a law that every boy has to try secretly smoking behind the garage, at least once in childhood. For me, that first attempt involved a neighbor kid and I grabbing a handful of grass — no,...
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...
Breaking news: The pandemic was hard
By
Gary Tetz
Oct 06, 2022
That pandemic. Wow. While it was happening and people were dying and stuff, I remember thinking, “This is kind of a difficult time we’re going through. I feel a little stressed and anxious.” But...
Up from the ashes
By
Gary Tetz
Sep 08, 2022
With the president of AHCA predicting a difficult 2023, it confirmed just how tough a slog the road back from the darkest days of the pandemic will likely continue to be for long-term care. But if we’re...
Shouting time
By
Gary Tetz
Aug 25, 2022
Maybe it comes from working in the highly regulated long-term care profession for so many years, or maybe it’s just from being a subservient Canadian, but I’ve become quite a prolific rule follower....
MDROs setting up residence: The role of the contaminated environment in long-term care
By
Debra A. Hagberg
Aug 18, 2022
America’s age 65 and older population is expected to nearly double in size in the coming decades, from 49 million in 2016 to 95 million in 2060. With this aging of the population comes the reality of...
Mindy Shapiro named chief compliance officer at ASC
By
Kimberly Marselas
Aug 15, 2022
American Senior Communities in late July announced Mindy Shapiro as it new chief compliance officer.