The Kansas University Hospital doesn’t fear competition, President and CEO Irene Cumming said. But the hospital does want to maintain its brand.

“The University of Kansas Hospital serves a unique role as the primary teaching hospital for the (KU) School of Medicine, and we have invested significantly in enhancing the care and reputation of this hospital,” Cumming said Tuesday. “What we don’t want is for people to lose sight of the value of that role and brand that that has in the community.”

Cumming’s comment comes as details emerge of KU Hospital’s nearly $400 million pitch to KU Medical Center for an affiliation agreement between the Kansas City, Kan., facilities.

The details of the proposal were included in a message sent this week to staff from Barbara Atkinson, the medical center’s executive vice chancellor and executive dean of the School of Medicine.

The proposal for increased support for KU’s medical school included $173 million for facilities and equipment, $34.5 million in support for KU Cancer Center operations and $140 million for clinical salary support.

In return, the hospital would secure a 10-year affiliation agreement and remain the primary teaching hospital.

According to Atkinson’s letter, the proposal also calls for excluding St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., as a site for full residency affiliations.

“We’re still trying to understand exactly what’s meant by that and trying to talk through or negotiate what would actually be involved,” Atkinson said Tuesday. “This is really about us being a leader in the whole region. We can’t exclude anybody. This is not about being exclusive at all.”

The proposal also calls for affiliates not being able to use KU School of Medicine or KU Hospital branding.

“The University of Kansas Hospital today is the only primary teaching hospital,” Cumming said. “That is a very important designation. We, however, do support selected academic affiliations with St. Luke’s and other hospitals on an as-needed basis.”

In her letter, Atkinson said the medical center is poised to become the world-class center that the region needs to meet its goals in the life sciences.

“But we can only realize this potential if we negotiate partnerships that do not force us to choose sides,” Atkinson wrote. “I remain committed to fighting for partnerships that do not define winners and losers or tie our hands.”

The medical center has crossed the state line exploring partnerships with St. Luke’s and Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics.

Atkinson said the effort is about growth for everyone – something that KU Hospital might see differently.

“I think that they see a risk of competition, whereas I see a growth for everybody – that what we should all be doing is getting better in drawing in people who would be going elsewhere for their care,” Atkinson said.

Irvine Hockaday Jr., spokesman for a Life Sciences Steering Committee that is discussing partnerships between the hospital systems and the medical center, said he thinks that all entities will benefit by partnering.

“I see it not as a negative to KU Hospital, but an opportunity for all of them to do better,” he said. “If you have a medical center with outstanding affiliated hospitals that complement each other : everybody’s brand gets better.”

KU Medical Center is a KU campus that offers educational programs through its schools of Allied Health, Medicine, Nursing and Graduate Studies. The campus is composed of academic units operating alongside KU Hospital, which provides opportunities for clinical experience and residency positions.

Cumming said both organizations are at the beginning of talks and the subject will be taken up by state legislators Dec. 11.