KY Hospital Association CEO out after decades with organization. No explanation given.
Data show Galvagni’s salary was on par with what hospital association leaders in nearby states earn.
After more than four decades with the Kentucky Hospital Association, Nancy Galvagni is no longer CEO of the organization, which has not said why.
The association has not publicly announced the news but a spokeswoman confirmed to the Lantern that Galvagni “is no longer serving as CEO of KHA” and that the board has named Melanie Landrum as its “interim leader.”
Landrum “has been in health care for over 20 years in both the inpatient and outpatient settings,” according to an online association bio, which still lists an old title.
“The Board is focused on ensuring a smooth leadership transition and continued service to KHA members,” spokeswoman Ginger Dreyer said.
News of Galvagni’s departure comes about a month after Senate President Robert Stivers condemned the association from the Kentucky statehouse, saying its leader had an “outrageous” annual salary of around $1 million. He did not mention Galvagni by name.
Data show Galvagni’s salary was on par with what hospital association leaders in nearby states earn.
According to a database of nonprofit revenue and salaries maintained by ProPublica, Galvagni made a base salary of $903,674. The database lists “other” compensation of $43,086.
“That’s not a CEO of a hospital with 1,000 employees giving health care,” Stivers said in a March 5 speech on the Senate floor. “This is an executive director’s salary compensation package that is almost now $1 million a year. That’s outrageous.”
When asked if there was a connection between Galvagni’s departure and Stivers’ speech, Dreyer did not say why Galvagni is no longer with the organization. She said the association had “nothing more to comment.” Attempts to reach Galvagni were not successful.
Stivers, R-Manchester, also condemned the salary in the context of Medicaid discussions. In 2025, Congress cut Medicaid spending over 10 years by $880 billion as part of the sweeping One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“When we start talking about health care, the indigent … I will bet you that there is a substantial component of this ($1 million) that has Medicaid tied to it. What is Medicaid? I’m fortunate. I’m blessed. I don’t have Medicaid. We have private insurance. A lot of my friends have private insurance. My children, my grandchildren, they have private insurance,” Stivers said. “But Medicaid is for the most vulnerable, the most fragile population of our society, and this is what the hospital association is doing, holding and paying? Do I show this type of outrage often? No, but everybody in this body should be.”
According to the ProPublica database, hospital association presidents and CEOs in Kentucky’s neighboring states — Missouri, West Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia and Illinois — all make nearly, or more than, $1 million in their base salaries.
CEOs and association presidents make these salaries, according to ProPublica:
- Illinois: $1,348,508
- Missouri: $1,228,735
- Tennessee: $1,064,598
- Ohio: $944,423
- Virginia: $928,478
- West Virginia: $760,718
- Indiana: $701,115
Galvagni was named president and CEO of the Kentucky Hospital Association in 2019. She was named senior vice president of the organization in 1998, according to a 2022 profile in The Lane Report. At that time, she said she’d been involved with the association for 42 years.
She has been a regular face in Frankfort, advocating for and against legislation dealing with certificate of need, freestanding birth centers, the 340B drug pricing program and more.
Under her leadership, the hospital association and others advocated against changes made in the U.S. Senate to the Medicaid program, saying cuts would likely hurt rural populations the most and result in shuttered services, including obstetrics, mental health, cancer treatment and emergency care.
This story may be updated.
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Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.
