“Paul is just such a great leader and I hope to do half as good as he did here,” he said. “He did some phenomenal work. Very honored and blessed to be a part of the Hamilton team here.”
Hoover was named president of Kettering Health Hamilton in November 2021. During his tenure, among other things, the hospital earned honors for best mammogram imaging, sponsored a free shoe giveaway to students at Highland Elementary last October, achieved a Level 3 Trauma Center status, became the exclusive healthcare provider for Spooky Nook Sports, and received top marks for safe healthcare from the national watchdog organization Leapfrog Group Hospital Safety.
Almost five years to the week of Hoover’s arrival in Hamilton, Spence now leads the Hamilton hospital.
“One of my primary initiatives, or main focuses, is going to be growth,” said the 37-year-old married father of two. “The community of Hamilton is growing; we would like to grow with it. There’s such an opportunity to do more services that the community needs and serve a bit more in this area.”
It’s been a while since Spence had been in Hamilton, and he’s been “blown away” by the growth over the dozen years, he said.
“I remember coming down to Hamilton when Jennifer Swenson was president," Spence said. “I really want to continue that legacy that the other presidents in the past have done and continue. Community is really important, and connections in the community, and being there for the community, is why we’re here.”
Spence has been with Kettering Health for 14 years, and was named president of Kettering Health Troy in April 2024. He’s held a number of administrative and director roles, including the Director of Operations and Strategy at Kettering Health’s Middletown and Franklin locations.
“There’s a huge opportunity in this market area,” he said.
Throughout his tenure with Kettering, Spence had also participated in the community, from being involved in initiatives that assisted the homeless population and at the Miami University Middletown campus to being involved in the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dayton.
“That human aspect is very important to me,” said Spence. “Community service is really huge, and collaboration. Oftentimes, we forget that humans are humans and that we all have needs. I’m very interested in learning everyone’s walk of life and being there to serve them.”
Meeting people where they are in life and collaborating to improve the community is his ultimate mission, and by doing that, he can “really expand that reach” of Kettering Health Hamilton.
“That’s our primary goal,” he said. “That’s going to be our key focus here in the next three to four years. Really expand that reach.”
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