Westwood ? The Kansas University Hospital Authority board endorsed a technical alteration to its affiliation agreement with KU Medical Center and KU Physicians Inc. in order to advance discussions on the planned Cancer Partners Advisory Board.

In its meeting Tuesday morning, the authority board said it would support advisory board members calling themselves affiliates of the Midwest Cancer Alliance. The change was necessary because the master affiliation agreement with KUMC and KU Physicians Inc. states organizations would call themselves affiliates of the KU Cancer Center. Some hospitals, including St. Luke’s in Kansas City, Mo., did not want to market themselves using the name of a competing hospital.

“We’ve been on board with this from day one,” KU Hospital CEO Bob Page said. “We helped create it. We’re going to do what we can to advance a regional partnership.”

Amy Jordan-Wooden, KUMC spokeswoman, said no organizations have formally joined the advisory board, but some have expressed interest. In addition to KU Hospital and KUMC, possible members include Stormont-Vail Regional Health Center in Topeka, Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., Via Christi Hospital in Wichita, Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., St. Luke’s, the Kansas Bioscience Authority, the Stowers Institute and Kansas State University.

In order to become advisory board members, hospitals would need to pay KUMC $500,000 to be used to support cancer research and education. Other universities and research centers would commit to performing at least $500,000 in cancer research.

Once those conditions are met, however, the CPAB members would meet to determine what sort of name they want to take and what sort of activities they will conduct.

“Until there are members that have officially signed and there are other conditions met” no meetings are planned, Jordan-Wooden said.

Once the board does begin meeting, the meetings are expected to be subject to the provisions of Kansas open meetings law, KU Hospital spokesman Dennis McCulloch said.