One of these days (maybe it will be weeks, months or years) there will be a settlement of the embarrassing, unnecessary and divisive civil war in Kansas City involving the Kansas University Medical Center, KU Hospital and St. Luke’s Hospital.

The truly unfortunate aspect of this situation is that it didn’t have to happen. Secrecy, hidden agendas, egos, selfish interests and less than honest tactics have resulted in this current mess of a deal to forge an agreement among the institutions at the expense of the people of Kansas.

This reporter has written a great deal about the hospital situation (and realizes some may believe it has been far too much). This extremely serious matter deserves far more study by Kansas legislators, Kansas taxpayers, KU faculty members on Mt. Oread, at KUMC and KU Medical School in Wichita, the Kansas Board of Regents and all those interested in what’s best for the university and the state.

The effort to strengthen St. Luke’s, a Missouri hospital, at the expense of KUMC and KU Hospital has been in the works for at least two years. It was, and continues to be, a well-planned exercise started in secrecy with deliberate intentions to keep KU Hospital officials in the dark and excluded from early discussions.

Two surprising aspects are the almost obsessive efforts of KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway and KUMC Vice Chancellor and Dean Barbara Atkinson to force this deal down KU Hospital leaders’ throats, and the efforts of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to try to pack the KU Hospital board with nominees who would vote to approve the giveaway to St. Luke’s.

What kind of a reward could be so attractive, so lucrative or so rewarding to make Hemenway, Atkinson and Sebelius favor actions which knowledgeable medical observers claim would weaken KUMC and KU Hospital?

The goal, those pushing the deal say, is to win National Cancer Institute designation, and to expand the medical residency program for the region. However, the fact is it is not necessary to involve St. Luke’s to earn the designation.

Yet the secrecy continues. Last Monday a small group of Kansas City leaders met with KU Hospital president and CEO Bob Page. St. Luke’s president and CEO Richard Hastings had told Page beforehand of the blue ribbon group’s desire for the meeting – and that St. Luke’s wanted half of the NCI or comprehensive cancer center designation if in fact KU did win such recognition.

The high-powered group, which included Don Hall, Bill Hall, Irv Hockaday, Terry Dunn, Thomas McDonnell and others, met but soon learned KU Hospital officials were not going to yield. Hospital leaders made it clear they had a commitment of $400 million over a 10-year period to KUMC and there was no way they could honor this if there was any division of the NCI designation and clinical cancer work.

Hastings had gone so far as to say, once again, that if St. Luke’s couldn’t get what it wanted, St. Luke’s would work a deal with Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. It appears some members of the Kansas City delegation were not aware of Hastings’ threat. As a result, it is believed they left the meeting with the intent to tell Hastings to tone down his rhetoric.

There were no harsh words at the meeting but it was clear the St. Luke’s-KC group wants the hospital deal signed by the end of December. They don’t want to enter the new year, and the start of the Kansas legislative session, without a deal. They realize growing numbers of Kansas lawmakers have more and more questions and reservations about the giveaway. They know the legislators don’t like the attitude of Hemenway and his employees telling the lawmakers they don’t have any business interfering or getting involved in the one-way deal.

About the only positive thing that happened at the hourlong meeting was the suggestion some sort of an advisory unit be formed to work closely with KU Hospital and St. Luke’s officials and to keep all parties informed. Such a group was formed in New Jersey in a similar dispute and those at Monday’s meeting said they thought it would help to create a similar committee. It was emphasized, however, that any such panel would be advisory only, with no voting power.

Those in the St. Luke’s-Kansas City group should have left the meeting with the understanding that without KU Hospital in the fold, the deal is dead. They must have the hospital and they realize there isn’t any solid deal in place at this stage between the hospital and KUMC, let alone a KU Hospital-St. Luke’s deal.

As one knowledgeable observer said, if this matter could be likened to a book with five or six chapters, negotiations at this stage aren’t even out of the first chapter, because an agreement between KU Hospital and KUMC is essential before there can be any meaningful negotiation with St. Luke’s.

A lot has been said about an agreement “in principle” between St. Luke’s and KU but there are few specifics and many details to be agreed upon. Just as KU Hospital officials are not going to roll over and play dead for Kansas City leaders and St. Luke’s Hospital, neither are KU Hospital officials going to roll over for KUMC, Hemenway, Atkinson or Sebelius.

KU Hospital officials have an obligation to protect the hospital and its staff. One observer said, “Page would be betraying his staff” if he were to give in to anyone’s one-sided wishes.

Also, many knowledgeable persons were shocked Atkinson and Hemenway would accept the $1 million per year payment by St. Luke’s for the agreement with KUMC for use of the KU name, its research and medical residents. One person close to the scene called it “an insult.”

Some say this is a naked demonstration of how strapped Atkinson is for cash. These people say they are surprised the legislative oversight committee did not look more closely into the big financial commitments Atkinson has made with questionable income to back them up.

Some question if St. Luke’s planners have schemed to place KU Hospital, Page and hospital board members in the position of being looked upon as responsible if the plan crashes. They might say, “St. Luke’s and KUMC officials agreed on a plan but it was the failure of KU Hospital to play ball which caused the effort to fail.”

If this indeed were to happen, the fault would be with St. Luke’s and KUMC officials for the manner in which they structured the plan. They wanted to force a giveaway, a one-way deal to the detriment of KU Hospital and Kansas. It wouldn’t be KU Hospital’s fault.

It is believed some members of the Kansas City delegation were surprised by the physical plant at KU Hospital. They had no idea it is such a successful operation with such a talented staff.

An individual with much health care experience said, “What has happened is that a sleeping giant, KU Hospital, is out of the box and they, Kansas City leaders and St. Luke’s officials, cannot put it back in the box. The secret is out and many are shocked at the excellence and role of KU Hospital.”

This writer has many longtime friends associated with St. Luke’s Hospital, including doctors, board members and strong supporters. It is not pleasant to test these friendships and perhaps burn some bridges by questioning or opposing the efforts and actions of St. Luke’s. However, the public certainly deserves to know what is going on, to know about the secret meetings, the damage to the hospital and KUMC, the hollowness of numerous threats made to KU Hospital officials, and the giveaway to St. Luke’s at the expense of KU Hospital.

This is the role of a newspaper.

This entire mess deserves the close interest of Kansas taxpayers and state lawmakers. It should be obvious how nervous the St. Luke’s and KC crowd are by their frantic efforts to get a deal done immediately, before the Legislature convenes in January.

A newspaper reporter can only do so much in informing the public about a matter such as this.

It is up to the governor, the chancellor, the Board of Regents, Kansas lawmakers and the public to enter the picture with the hope reasonable and properly motivated individuals have the courage to do the right thing.

This is far too important. Any giveaway cannot be reclaimed and any giveaway has damaging, long-lasting impacts on the state of Kansas.