I have to disagree, politely, with a couple points-

Ventilators are not in short supply, practically every home oxygen company in the country that does home ventilator care has them readily available because they are possible high revenue patients. And they all require a minimal battery backup, so they are plugged in round the clock, checked annually by the maker, and ready to go on a patient at a moment's notice.

Now it's possible the the big behometh ventilators are in short supply in hospitals, but then again, they are so expensive that acute care folks try to transition vent patients to the home as soon as possible, and the fact that the DRG's that determine their reimbursement often mandates a quick turnaround to lesser levels of care.

BiPap therapy (a sleep apnea device that has also been used for non-invasive ventilation) is also very prevalent. At one time, I recall they used them in third world countries as an alternative to intubating for short term needs. I think I once read where a hospital in Thailand used them to treat people bitten by pit vipers (may have the snake wrong) since the venom caused either the throat to swell, or lung function/muscle response issues, I can't remember.......

Last worst case scenario is you bag them (use an ambu-bag manually until mechanical ventilation is available). I personally experienced this during a power failure, people taking shifts to bag the vent dependent patient.

And home care is alive and well, the only problem there is a nursing shortage, not the capacity for care. In fact, the very phenomenon that you describe (smaller families, all parents working, etc.) has created a home care boom, especially with forecasters preparing for the aging baby boomers, who will presumably shun end of life institutional care for staying in their homes. And the nursing shortage will turn to a glut, like it does every several years, as more foreign born nurses are recruited to work here, amongst other things.

One school of thought is since there are so many opportunities for women now, that they no longer seek the traditional nursing school path in the USA. I am curious if others agree.

What it has also created, through expediency, is a "technician" level of care since the technology has taken away the need for RN's to monitor every aspect. In fact, most long term care patients (ALS, MS, MDA, pick your malady) are typically cared for by LPN/LVN level practitioners, in my experience. Which there are plenty of.

If I'm off the point here, my apologies, I agree the threat is real, but those specific points may not be as dire........