01:00 AM EDT on Friday, August 27, 2004

Don't just sit there -- pass a law!

We've seen it over and over: Something goes wrong, and politicians decline to take or even assess responsibility. Rather, they propose "tougher" new laws, asserting that they will solve the problem. They act as if laws, not people, conduct the business of government.

We saw it with the Station-nightclub fire, when Rhode Island's leaders refused to examine why inspectors had failed to do their jobs, and instead passed codes so foolishly draconian that children could no longer hang their art work on classroom walls. In the rush to stiffen regulations, few leaders paused to consider that there had been more than enough laws on the books to prevent the nightclub fire -- had they only been enforced.

Now we are seeing this syndrome in the case of the woman in a nursing home whose agonizing bed sores went unattended.

On Tuesday, responding to public concern about the 87-year-old at the Hillside Health Center who lay in feces and urine, Governor Carcieri rolled out the Nursing Home Patient Safety Act.

We don't know if such legislation would help the public in any real way; we'll wait for the hearings. But one thing that should be carefully explored is whether such legislation would make matters worse -- by increasing red tape and driving up costs for families and taxpayers. Meanwhile, it is possible, if not certain, that an increase in the number of nursing-home inspectors might help the state better protect its most vulnerable citizens.

Yet before rushing through any new laws, this question must be asked: Did the bureaucrats who are paid to protect the public's safety do their jobs as effectively as possible? Governor Carcieri -- as the boss of Patricia Nolan, the director of Rhode Island's Health Department -- owes the public an answer. It's his responsibility.

The Health Department repeatedly inspected the nursing home, repeatedly found problems, yet still let Hillside fail to treat patients correctly. Surely, state officials had greater power than they used to attack this problem. They could have paid more visits, taken tougher action, demonstrated greater concern about the fate of the helpless people at Hillside.

This is the second time in recent months that Dr. Nolan's department has come under criticism for significantly failing the public. It has been revealed that on the night of the Station fire, the Medical Examiner's Office, which is under Dr. Nolan's leadership, provided only one investigator to work at the scene. This left the state with an incomplete record of where the bodies were found, and added to the workload and stress of the emergency responders.

One can always pass legislation after the fact. But politicians must remember: Laws don't solve problems. The people entrusted with enforcing those laws must do their jobs if the public is to be protected.