The Journal-World has once again devoted considerable space to an editorial apparently designed to create a controversy where one does not and should not exist.

The citizens of Kansas deserve a truly world-class academic medical center, and the dedicated men and women of the Kansas University Medical Center are working hard to create just such a resource. The citizens of Kansas also deserve to know the truth.

The issue addressed is the ongoing effort to forge partnerships and alliances designed to elevate the Kansas City region to top-20 status as a life sciences center. Instead of eagerly embracing the opportunities presented by this new initiative, the Journal-World seems determined to engage in the kind of “zero-sum” thinking that will hold us and the region back.

To compete in the global, knowledge-based economy, our communities and institutions must collaborate and evolve. If we pursue only protectionist strategies, we will be left behind.

The editor of the Journal-World is a member of the Kansas Bioscience Authority. More than most, he should be keenly aware of the stakes. If we are to thrive as a region we must work together to move forward. If the narrow, parochial interests of any one institution are allowed to squash the broader benefits of new collaborations and partnerships, then everyone in the region will lose.

The issues involved are very complex, and I can understand why it might be easy for a reader of this newspaper to be confused about what’s really going on. Let me be very clear about why we are pursuing new partnerships.

The Kansas City region has a shared vision for the future transformation of our economy. The leading institutions, as well as civic and political leaders, agree that the best results can be achieved by aggressively investing in the expansion of the life sciences. Not only will this result in significant humanitarian gains but tremendous new economic vitality as well. The KU Medical Center and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research are now regarded as the axis of innovation around which the transformation of the economy will occur.

While Stowers is fully funded through the generous endowment of Jim and Virginia Stowers, the KU Medical Center will need hundreds of millions of dollars to be invested if it is to achieve top-50 status as an academic medical center. This infusion of new resources will primarily come from increased hospital and philanthropic support. The discussions currently under way involving representatives of major research hospitals in Kansas City plus civic and philanthropic leaders are designed to discover what’s possible. These discussions explore how potential affiliations might enhance the education of our students, expand the treatment options available to our patients and speed the discovery and application of new knowledge to enhance human health.

These discussions have involved the Kansas University Hospital every step of the way. The chancellor and I have both assured the public, our faculty and the board of the KU Hospital that we will not engage in any agreements which would harm the KU Hospital. KU Hospital is our primary teaching hospital. We share a history, a campus, a faculty and the same brand. We value the hospital’s strength because their strength is our strength and vice versa. To hurt them is to hurt ourselves. The Journal-World’s continued assertions to the contrary are just plain wrong.

The KU Hospital has been an enthusiastic and valued player in the constellation of Kansas City area life sciences institutions. The KU Medical Center’s plan for our future is built on the enduring belief that our longstanding and valued partnership with the KU Hospital remains essential to our success.

The KU Medical Center and KU Hospital have entered into a joint planning process to discuss our shared priorities and how we can best direct our resources to achieve our shared vision for the future. We are committed to working together to advance the health of all Kansans and improve the economic prosperity of our region.

It is very encouraging that the civic leadership of Kansas City has stepped up and has begun to assemble a package of support to advance the life sciences in our region – support that would, in part, flow to the KU Medical Center.

It is also true that the KU Hospital has achieved a position of financial strength which allows it to more appropriately fulfill its statutory mission to support the educational and research activities of the KU Medical Center. The level of hospital support for these activities has been woefully underfunded for decades, and, thanks now to the solid financial position of the hospital, they can and should do much more.

Yet to succeed in our aspiration to become a top-50 academic medical center and for our region to become a top-20 center for the life sciences, the KU Medical Center will need both the support of the community and the enhanced support of our region’s leading hospitals. Those who want to portray the community’s offer of support and the KU Hospital’s offer of support as an “either, or” proposition miss the point. Only by acting together – with our entire region’s potential directed at our goal – will the shared vision be realized.

Finally, let me say how much I truly resent the implication of the Journal-World editorials that those involved in these discussions have tried to skirt the scrutiny of the Kansas Legislature, the Kansas Board of Regents or the public we serve. That smear is a disservice to the many dedicated and generous leaders who have stepped forward to advocate for and build a brighter future.

I have personally held a series of campus forums and open door meetings to discuss these issues with the faculty. I have visited with the board of the KU Hospital Authority and answered questions publicly and from the press about the potential for new partnerships, and I will continue to make myself available for such discussions. The chancellor has appeared before the Joint Legislative Budget Committee to brief its members personally on the status of these discussions.

Clearly, no one is trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes, and no one is trying to race into any affiliation that isn’t carefully considered and in the best interests of all concerned. I am proud of the progress we have made, and I am not shy about sharing that pride with our friends, partners and investors – including the citizens of Kansas and their elected officials.

The most recent editorial stated, “It’s too bad politics, egos, turf wars, small thinking and selfish interests have colored this issue.” I couldn’t agree more. But it is the small thinking by the Journal-World which most eagerly calls out for correction.

Whether you are a legislator, a patient, a student, a faculty member or just an interested citizen, your opinions matter to me. If anyone is interested in discovering why these new potential affiliations and partnerships represent a promising and productive new way of thinking about our region’s emerging place in the new global, knowledge-based economy give me a call or send me an email. It’s an exciting time to be a part of the KU Medical Center despite what you might read on the editorial pages of this newspaper.