Sometimes I have to stretch to recite something joyful to share from the past week, as is requested at one of our regular work meetings. But this week, the task was easy.
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...
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...
The Sasha Experience
By
Gary Tetz
Feb 27, 2014
It’s been a rough day for good customer service, and since you live and work in a profession dependent upon it, I’m sharing these still raw and painful experiences because I believe they’ll...
Lord of the Rings
By
Gary Tetz
Mar 04, 2021
After mocking wearers of Apple watches not so long ago, citing an annoying interaction that took place in a nursing home lobby, I finally got one myself. I realize this makes me a hypocrite, and I’m...
Brave new birthday world
By
Gary Tetz
Nov 16, 2023
What do birthdays have to do with long-term care? Well, I’ve been having them long-term. And at this point, I’ve ceased to care. You probably see that statement for what it is, nothing but bitter bluster....
Lost in a nursing home elevator — and lived to not talk about it
By
Gary Tetz
Jun 20, 2013
Here’s one that slipped through the cracks, and I’m beating myself up about it. How did I miss the McKnight’s story about Rosalie, the 87-year-old nursing home resident who was trapped...
The hypocrisy of staffing mandates
By
Gary Tetz
Oct 19, 2023
Absorbed as you probably are in fighting through the long-term care staffing crisis while parrying a CMS mandate, I wouldn’t blame you for not noticing. But at airports across America, big planes are...
QAPI in a box
By
Gary Tetz
May 11, 2017
It’s a lot of pressure, working in long-term care. People are becoming much more process-conscious and data-driven, more aware of competitors and more responsive to market research. Perhaps that’s...
Two sheets to the win
By
Gary Tetz
Jun 30, 2022
Infinite call-center wait times. Delivery mix-ups and delays. Rude responses to reasonable requests. Promises unfulfilled. I hear there’s a cutting-edge business principle called “the customer is always...