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,...
Better together
By
Gary Tetz
Nov 30, 2023
An hour or so before the siren in our long-term care factory blasted the official start of the work day, and feeling a heightened level of job-related stress, I strolled into a colleague’s office uninvited...
Cue the banjo player (you won’t regret it)
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 28, 2016
So anyway, speaking of aging, I got to spend Sunday evening with a delightful old guy named Steve — a spry, perfectly adorable gentleman with a Mike Pence hairdo who plays the banjo and seems to have...
Say hello to my little robot friend
By
Gary Tetz
Oct 19, 2017
I’ve seen movies about what happens when humans fight robots, and I won’t be taking one for the team.
Anonyholics Anonymous
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 21, 2016
It’s about time someone is pushing back against all the vitriolic nonsense and baseless accusations people are willing to spew when they think no one will know who they are. Illinois lawmakers are...
My incredible shrinking lifespan
By
Gary Tetz
Oct 14, 2021
With so much still to say to the long-term care profession, I’m realizing I better write fast, because I may not have many years left. Less all the time, according to a study from Oxford University....
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.
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...
Rolling out the red carpet for robots
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 14, 2022
Given recent news, award presentations at future long-term care conventions might have a new twist. “And now, please put your hands together for our Frontline Caregiver of the Year: Arti3000, a tireless...
Stress helps wound care — at least if you’re a mouse
By
Gary Tetz
Aug 14, 2014
Lost in all the recent hubbub about the Ebola virus, Justin Bieber going to anger management class and a guy eating a nursing home resident’s pain patch, is breaking news from the exciting world...