Meadows to Succeed Pat Padgett in November 2026
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (May 1, 2025) — The Kentucky Medical Association (KMA) Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that Cory W. Meadows has been selected to serve as the Association’s next Executive Vice President/CEO. Meadows will succeed longtime KMA EVP/CEO Patrick T. Padgett upon his retirement in November 2026.
Padgett announced his intent last fall to retire nearly two years in advance to give the KMA plenty of time to identify and train a replacement. “We so appreciated Pat’s notice and foresight that allowed us to start planning for his departure,” said Evelyn Montgomery Jones, M.D., President of the KMA. The KMA Board of Trustees assembled a small group of officers led by Doctor Jones to evaluate Cory, and their recommendation to move him into the role was recently approved.
Meadows currently serves as KMA’s Deputy Executive Vice President and Director of Advocacy, roles he has held since joining the Association in 2011. In this capacity, he has overseen KMA’s legislative advocacy efforts and legal affairs, playing a central role in advancing policies that support Kentucky’s physicians and improving patient care across the Commonwealth.
“Cory has been a trusted and visionary leader within KMA for well over a decade,” said Dr. Jones. “His deep expertise in healthcare law and policy, along with his dedication to the medical profession, make him an outstanding choice to lead the Association into this next chapter.”
In addition to his work with KMA, Meadows serves on the American Medical Association’s Litigation Center Executive Committee and is the past Board Chair of the Partnership for Commonsense Justice, a coalition of healthcare and business organizations dedicated to tort reform in Kentucky. He is a respected voice on physician practice management, access to care, medical and legal issues, and healthcare compliance, and regularly presents on these topics to both professional and public audiences. He is also a graduate of the Leadership Kentucky program.
Before joining KMA, Meadows practiced law in both the public and private sectors and held several key leadership positions in the administration of Governor Ernie Fletcher. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Kentucky and a Juris Doctor from the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville.
“I am deeply honored to be chosen as the next Executive Vice President of KMA,” said Meadows. “It has been a privilege to work alongside Pat Padgett and serve the physicians of Kentucky. I look forward to building upon our strong foundation and continuing to advocate for a healthier Kentucky.”
Padgett has been KMA EVP/CEO since 2007, after having served as staff counsel for nearly eleven years. During his tenure, he greatly expanded the public health and public outreach work of the KMA by, in part, reviving the KMA’s charitable arm, the Kentucky Foundation for Medical Care. This allowed the KMA to work on issues such as vaccinations, COVID-19, and lung health, with each initiative led by the KMA President. Doctor Jones is currently leading the organization’s latest public health outreach, known as Small STEPS, Big Impact, which encouraged Kentuckians to make small changes that improve their overall health. Padgett also helped to implement the award-winning Kentucky Physicians Leadership Institute (KPLI) and taught several of the classes offered through the program.
“I have enjoyed my nearly thirty-year career with KMA,” said Padgett, “and it has been my honor to work with physicians who truly care about their patients and the overall health of Kentuckians. It has also been my pleasure to work with Cory for nearly fourteen years and I am sure he will be an outstanding leader for the organization.”
“Pat truly modernized our association,” said Dr. Jones. “He also expanded our scope of services and directed our operations in such a way that we have continued on a solid financial footing during some rather turbulent periods. His financial acumen and personal counsel have been what he’s most known for throughout his career.”
Padgett and Meadows will work over the coming eighteen months to ensure a seamless handover of responsibilities and continued organizational momentum.
About the Kentucky Medical Association
The Kentucky Medical Association is a non-profit 501(c)(6) organization that supports physician members and their patients with a variety of services. The KMA, established in 1851, represents and supports nearly 7,000 physicians, physician residents, and medical students across the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Learn more about the KMA and its programs at www.kyma.org.
