Harrisburg is increasingly a busy place as members of the General Assembly work to complete unfinished business before taking a summer recess. Among the headline items on the agenda -- budget, slots -- there is one bill that deserves its own share of the spotlight.

House Bill 2371 would strengthen whistle-blower protection for Pennsylvania's physicians and nurses. What that would really mean is safer health-care facilities for patients.

Last October, Post-Gazette staff writer Steve Twedt amply documented why such legislation is needed in a series called "The Cost of Courage." He found that the cost was counted in ruined careers for physicians who dared to speak out.

Doctors who complained for good cause found themselves listed on the National Practitioner Data Bank, which is supposed to be a way of making sure that bad doctors don't move from one hospital to another. Too often, the Post-Gazette series revealed, it has become a blacklist for good doctors who saw bad practices and wanted them corrected. Even when state or federal investigators subsequently proved the whistle-blowers right, the damage to the physicians had been done.

The legislation would remedy the official discouragement to do the right thing. Among various provisions, the bill would set up a toll-free line so that doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals could report confidentially the problems they see. A mechanism for independent evaluation of complaints would be set up. And if the whistle-blowers acted in good faith, they would be protected from disciplinary action or civil liability. They could even recover damages.

The individual horror stories uncovered in the Post-Gazette series, and the sheer weight of common sense that attaches to this bill, have led to an impressive list of 139 House members signing on as sponsors. But strange things can happen at this time of year when the legislative sausage machine is cooking, and this bill has some powerful potential enemies.

The prime sponsor, Democratic Rep. Anthony DeLuca of Penn Hills, will need support next Tuesday when the House vote is scheduled. Lawmakers should remember the core issue: Whistle-blowers need protection for the sake of patient safety.