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 nearly crashing into each other in the skies and on the ground. And not just once in a while. Nearly all the time. 

A recent report by the New York Times identified 46 incidents involving major airlines in July of 2023 alone, and stated that “close calls … have been happening, on average, multiple times a week.” What’s a close call? Well, how about a FedEx plane passing within 100 feet of a Southwest jet with 128 passengers taking off for Cancun? That close. 

The margin on some of these incidents is adorably described by the Federal Aviation Administration as “skin-to-skin,” which sounds more like a Tinder request than a near-catastrophic collision. Here’s another good rule of thumb: If you’re in a window seat and notice that the pilot in a passing plane needs his or her nose hairs trimmed, you almost died. 

Frightening as all this is, here’s the part long-term care leaders might find… interesting? Frustrating? Hypocritical? Maybe a little bit absurd?  

Turns out, it’s largely a staffing problem.

I’ll quote directly from the report: “But the most acute challenge, The Times found, is that the nation’s air traffic control facilities are chronically understaffed. While the lack of controllers is no secret — the Biden administration is seeking funding to hire and train more — the shortages are more severe and are leading to more dangerous situations than previously known.”

Did I read that right? No knee-jerk royal decree? Just the search for a little funding to hire and train? The absence of draconian measures and lack of apparent urgency seems a bit incongruous compared to what nursing home providers are going through. 

It’s truly disorienting to see regulators and politicians attempt to solve a different staffing crisis by actually investing resources in recruiting and education, rather than reflexively legislating. What happened to their tried and true long-term care model — ignore a crippling nationwide labor shortage, stoke public outrage and simply roll out a magical unfunded mandate that could, in the long run, reduce available service? 

Why take the time to wrestle with inconvenient truths, when they could just impose a rule, disregard all external factors and likely consequences, and serenely walk away whistling.  

Aren’t they busy? Don’t they have a flight to catch? 

Things I Think is written by Gary Tetz, a two-time national Silver Medalist and three-time regional Gold and Silver Medal winner in the Association of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) awards program, as well as an Award of Excellence honoree in the APEX Awards. He’s been amusing, inspiring, informing and sometimes befuddling long-term care readers worldwide since the end of a previous century. He is a writer and video producer for Consonus Healthcare Services in Portland, OR.

The opinions expressed in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News guest submissions are the author’s and are not necessarily those of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News or its editors.

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