Kansas nursing homes should have no reason to fear state inspections or the reports filed by the inspectors. If they are operating a good home, focused on providing good patient care, they should have no fear about those reports being made public or being used as part of a court proceeding.

Allowing public scrutiny of inspection reports is an important way of making nursing homes accountable for the care they provide to some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.

That’s why legislation that would limit the use of inspection reports as evidence in civil lawsuits is an unnecessary measure that could limit the ability of people to seek redress against nursing homes. The legislation, which was approved by the Kansas House last week, could have a significant impact on the level of care and accountability in nursing homes across the state.

The measure would allow the use of reports that “directly refer and relate to the named plaintiff” in a lawsuit, but would place off limits any additional reports that might reveal a pattern of deficiencies at the home.

Nursing home officials are in favor of the bill because they say they need to reduce their liability in order to curb their costs of operation. Many deficiencies that are cited in state inspection reports have little or no direct impact on patient care, they say.

Opponents of the bill agree that not all inspection information is pertinent, but rather than cutting off access to the reports, the courts should be allowed to decide what records should be considered. Judges certainly are capable of discerning the difference between a report that cites improper paperwork and one that cites lapses in medical procedures and deciding which has a greater impact on direct patient care.

It might be convenient for nursing homes to take this decision out of the hands of judges, but it is not in the best interests of nursing home residents.

Margaret Farley is a Lawrence attorney who has been associated with Kansas Advocates for Better Care, a nursing home advocacy group, for many years. She agrees that legislators shouldn’t restrict a judge’s authority to decide whether inspection reports should be admitted as evidence.

And she makes a very common-sense argument when she says that nursing homes should realize that “the best way to rid yourself of the hazards of a bad survey is to have a good survey. It’s that simple.”

Running a good nursing home isn’t — and shouldn’t be — a simple business. Providing proper care for nursing home residents who may not be able to advocate for themselves is a big responsibility, a responsibility for which nursing homes must be held accountable. It would be nice to think that no Kansas nursing home ever would end up in court defending itself against a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of a resident, but that isn’t reality. So, in the best interest of residents, when such lawsuits are filed, the court should have access to all the pertinent information affecting that case.