Once again, a so-called critical “deadline” has come and gone without any action in the ongoing medical facility civil war and double-talk exercise involving Kansas University Medical Center, KU Hospital and St. Luke’s Hospital.

May 31 was the latest deadline for KU Medical Center and KU Hospital officials to agree to a firm, written agreement leading to an affiliation with St. Luke’s Hospital. No agreement was reached.

The plan designed by KUMC officials, St. Luke’s officers, several Kansas City business leaders and possibly some associated with the Stowers Institute called for the KUMC- KU Hospital agreement to be forwarded to St. Luke’s officials who would agree on a final, written agreement for collaboration among the three entities.

St. Luke’s would get the KU brand for many of their doctors, the KU Medical Center would transfer several programs to St. Luke’s, and KU Hospital would provide a number of medical residents to St. Luke’s.

The KU Medical Center and KU Hospital would not get anything.

St. Luke’s and several Kansas City civic leaders set the first deadline for early this past January. Next, the date was moved to early February, when the Kansas and Missouri governors were supposed to meet in Kansas City, shake hands and say nice things about the agreement. That deadline also was missed and set back to March. Then there was the just-passed May 31 date and still no agreement. Now they are talking about late June.

In each instance, St. Luke’s and K.C. civic leaders said that if the agreement was not in place by the deadline, they would drop all efforts to forge a tie with KUMC and KU Hospital and execute a similar plan with Washington University and Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. They claimed the St. Louis people were ready to sign an affiliation agreement with St. Luke’s, as were officials at Dana Farber in Boston and M.D. Anderson in Houston.

So far, despite the passing deadlines, St. Luke’s has not made such a move. Why the holdup?

KU Hospital officials have not agreed to a plan with KUMC, and KU Hospital directors are not scheduled to meet again until July 10.

According to several individuals close to the KU Hospital scene, KU Medical Center officials keep changing their game plan and the concessions they want from the hospital. This makes it difficult for hospital officials to agree to any meaningful plan.

What seems very clear is that KUMC officials, and probably St. Luke’s officials, now have decided to wait until Irene Cumming, the current president and CEO of KU Hospital, leaves for her new job in Chicago before they get serious about any negotiations. KUMC officials may believe they can have better luck trying to pressure and bully Cumming’s successor, Bob Page, than they have had with Cumming and the current board.

Apparently, they forgot that KU Hospital Authority board members are opposed to the giveaway to St. Luke’s. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has tried to load the board to vote in favor of the plan, but the state attorney general has said that at least one of her preferred board members, KU Provost Richard Lariviere, cannot legally serve as an ex officio member of the board.

How many times will deadlines come and go before growing numbers of Kansas City residents, KU friends and people throughout Kansas realize the questionable pressure tactics of St. Luke’s for what they are, a one-way street?

St. Luke’s wants everything; KU gets little if anything in return. KU Hospital officials are not going to give away the store. There’s little chance of any solid agreement in light of the ever-changing ground rules of the KU Medical Center and the one-way street demanded by St. Luke’s officials.