Within a few days or a couple of weeks, there could be an announcement of some kind of an agreement or “master affiliation” plan between Kansas University Hospital and the KU Medical Center.

KUMC officials, Kansas City’s St. Luke’s Hospital officials and KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway all have said they want an agreement before the end of this month. The primary reason they want the agreement signed quickly is that they want the deal done and signed before Kansas legislators gather in Topeka in January. They do not want the lawmakers to stick their noses into the giveaway to St. Luke’s.

The one-sided agreement was supposed to have been completed a year ago so Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt could make the announcement a centerpiece of a meeting in Kansas City to demonstrate both states can work together, bury any competitive feeling and act like everyone loves one another. KU’s giveaway to St. Luke’s and the highly questionable interests and motives of those in the Kansas City “we’re in control” crowd was supposed to show a spirit of cooperation for the good of all. (Another such meeting is scheduled for January in Kansas City.)

However, when people learned more about the one-way deal – how KU Hospital and KUMC were being asked to give away so much – the grand, well-planned strategy designed in secrecy started to hit some bumps. The more people learned about the plan, the more questions they had. Growing numbers of Kansans could not figure out why Hemenway and KUMC Executive Vice Chancellor Barbara Atkinson would buy into a plan in which KU and Kansas gain little, if anything.

So, for the past year, great pressures and threats, as well as hollow and phony arguments about the National Cancer Center designation, have been used to try to pressure KU Hospital officials to give in to the giveaway.

Atkinson and Hemenway were easy accomplices in getting KUMC to agree to selling the KU name to St. Luke’s, granting privileges to St. Luke’s doctors and providing a certain number of KU-trained residents for St. Luke’s – plus many other goodies St. Luke’s needs to remain competitive. Never mind that St. Luke’s wants to turn its back on Truman Medical Center, which has been supplying residents, and do whatever it can to minimize the number of indigent patients it must serve.

KU Hospital officials, however, refused to knuckle under. The KUMC-St. Luke’s deal didn’t have much substance without the full cooperation of KU Hospital. Former KU Hospital President and CEO Irene Cumming fought to keep the hospital strong. She refused to sell out her hospital and its staff. However, some in the Kansas City “we’re in charge” crowd made it their mission to get her out of the picture. They played hard ball. Although they want the image of being nice, get-along individuals, they can be mean in order to get their way.

Cumming resigned, and Bob Page took over leadership of the hospital. The pressure tactics continued, and there appeared to be a softening of the KU Hospital position. KU Hospital board member and former Kansas legislator Dave Kerr has remained strong and fought for the best interest of the hospital and Kansas, but he’s only one of a larger group.

Various meetings have been held in recent days. The hospital’s executive committee is meeting soon, and there will be a special meeting of the entire board in two weeks. No board meeting had been scheduled until January.

It is expected there will be a deal between KU Hospital and KUMC at this meeting. This will cement the deal with St. Luke’s because KU Hospital was the essential ingredient.

Whatever happens in the next week or so, there still are a number of questions:

¢ What incentives or promises are so attractive to get Hemenway and Atkinson to take part in this giveaway?

¢ What enticements are so strong that Sebelius would support something that handicaps or weakens KU Hospital and KUMC?

¢ What is the role of the Stowers Institute, and is it possible there may be a separate deal between Stowers and KU Hospital?

¢ Asked if the new deal allows KU Hospital to play on a level field with its competitor, St. Luke’s, a KU Hospital board member said, “I don’t know. I hope so, but I have serious reservations.” So why would board members agree to the plan?

¢ Many in the KU Hospital group are worried that no matter what KUMC people may promise to KU Hospital, they don’t believe Atkinson will follow through after the deal is signed. “We have learned not to trust Atkinson, and the record of St. Luke’s shows they change their minds after a deal is signed.”

¢ KU cancer leader Dr. Roy Jensen is letting it be known he wants his own cancer facility. Jensen and Johnson County promoter Mary Birch are working on a plan to have the so-called Johnson County triangle tax plan include a Jensen hospital for overnight cancer patients.

¢ One of the major issues of the plan was who would control KU Physicians Inc. Atkinson wanted to maintain control over this important group, but in the new plan, these physicians will become a much more independent group, not under Atkinson’s control.

¢ KUMC wants a new medical building but they have no money to build one, so they want KU Hospital to build the building, which they would lease. KU Hospital says if this should come about, it would have to be built adjacent to the hospital with the hospital having an oversight role.

¢ Some at KU Hospital, some state legislators and even some at KUMC question the outcome of the recent report by the Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit. Legislators say they may introduce legislation to call for far closer oversight of state funds provided to KUMC and a subsequent accounting of how and where state funding is spent.

¢ Speaking of money, the post-audit and concerns about the fiscal strength of KUMC because of the school making so many commitments, is there a possibility that naming rights for the medical school could be sold in the future? News reports say that University of Minnesota medical school officials are considering selling the school’s name in return for a truly big-time donation. They say it is a necessary financial move.

With KU’s emphasis on the dollar, whether in athletics or other areas, it wouldn’t be surprising for KU officials to consider selling the KUMC name. Minnesota sold naming rights for its new stadium. The University of South Dakota sold the name of its medical school for $20 million. New York’s Cornell University sold its name for a $100 million gift, and UCLA renamed its medical school after a $200 million gift.

If Atkinson’s books do not present an accurate picture of the fiscal health of KUMC, this naming game may not be so far-fetched.

At this stage of the drawn-out giveaway, it appears the Kansas City/St. Luke’s crowd is going to be successful – to a degree.

Some knowledgeable officials speculate KU will not get the National Cancer Institute designation. They point out Dallas has been trying for years, spending millions of dollars, to get this certification. They also suggest some at KU are not thrilled about Manhattan and Kansas State University landing the highly prized National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility because such a gem would take the spotlight away from KU, KUMC and the NCI effort.

The whole thing is an unfortunate mess. Selfish, personal interests; phony, hollow threats and promises; and giant egos and public images apparently carry more weight than honesty.

It’s not a proud moment for KU regardless of how its leaders and the governor try to spin the story.