St. Luke’s Hospital President and CEO Richard Hastings makes an impressive statement relative to the excellence, awards, recognitions and history of the Kansas City, Mo., hospital.

In earlier years, St. Luke’s was THE hospital of choice in Kansas City, and many outstanding, highly regarded physicians were based there. It enjoyed, and continues to enjoy, the support and financial backing of many of Kansas City’s most prominent civic leaders.

Today, it still is a good hospital and, as Hastings outlined in his column, which appeared in Friday’s Journal-World, the hospital, its doctors and staff have received many, many awards.

In light of this, and if St. Luke’s is so good, it is somewhat puzzling that Hastings and others at the hospital are working so hard to find a way to force an affiliation with the Kansas University Medical Center and KU Hospital.

If St. Luke’s has so many good things going for it, so many areas of excellence, why would it be trying to buy the services of a number of KU residents, men and women trained at KU? Why not continue its relationship with Truman Hospital if it has worked so successfully in the past?

Hastings says he and other St. Luke’s people have been trying for several years to work out a collaborative effort for cancer research between St. Luke’s and KU but that KU officials did not indicate any interest in what St. Luke’s was offering.

It is believed KU officials did respond to Hastings and said the St. Luke’s plan, as presented, was “unworkable.”

That hasn’t stopped the St. Luke’s officials who now are trying to force an agreement by a March 31 deadline, a deadline set by officials at either St. Luke’s or Stowers Institute – not by KU people, but probably with their approval.

Hastings says his hospital cannot wait any longer, that it has been in contact and is working on partnership arrangements with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, M.D. Anderson at the University of Texas in Houston, Washington University in St. Louis and perhaps other nationally known hospitals.

Hastings says that if the deal with KU cannot be completed by March 31, “St. Luke’s must look to the future and move on.”

Far better for St. Luke’s to “move on” and work with these other hospitals than for KU to cave in and be forced into signing an agreement that would weaken the KU medical school and hospital.

Unfortunately, there are some on the KU payroll who apparently are willing to buy into the St. Luke’s plan.

There are many sad and disappointing aspects to the entire situation with KU Medical Center, KU Hospital and St. Luke’s, especially the secrecy in which the plan was hatched and the effort to keep details of the plan secret from medical school and hospital staff members and state legislators. Never mind the public and Kansas taxpayers who have put hundreds of millions of dollars into the Kansas City medical complex.

St. Luke’s people can operate however they wish. They can set their own rules, policies, standards and behavior. The same applies to individuals such as Irv Hockaday and Bill Hall, both successful Kansas City business and philanthropic leaders. They believe that what they are doing and the way they are doing it is right. However, it is surprising and disillusioning that KU employees would knowingly participate in such secrecy and double talk. The public rightfully deserves better.