In November, Always Investigating told you about a lawsuit by the Kokua Council against the Department of Health over its posting of health care facility inspections.
While digging into the long-term care reports – which track the trends of the most common violations – we found extensive blackouts on most of them.
A judge ruled Thursday, Feb. 2, that the redactions were overly extensive and violated the state’s open records law.
The Kokua Council, an advocate on behalf of critical senior issues such as long-term care, also argues that the health department did not post the inspection reports within the required five days.
“Without these reports, people don’t know. It’s like going to a hotel and not being able to review any reviews of the hotel,” said council attorney Lance Collins.
