Garrett Hoover shares his family’s philosophy on philanthropy—and how he found a kindred community when he came to Carroll Hospital.
For Carroll Hospital President Garrett Hoover, giving back to the community isn’t a casual notion. It’s—as he puts it—in his DNA.
“I was brought up in a household where my parents were always trying to pay it forward. Everyday little things, like buying someone lunch or breakfast,” he recalls. “We believed that using the resources we’ve been given to make a difference in others’ lives is one of the reasons why we’re all here.”
It’s a legacy that Hoover now carries on with his wife, Anna Luisa, and their 8-year-old son, Christopher. Together, they donate to causes that have impacted their family, such as the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society. They sponsor five children in South America and Latin America through Compassion International. They have gone on mission trips, including one to build a vocational school in Guatemala so that villagers could learn skills needed to achieve a better quality of life. And, in 2011, Hoover gave perhaps the most generous gift of all: he donated a kidney to his uncle, giving him six years of additional life that he would not have otherwise had.
So when Hoover moved to Westminster in March 2020 to assume the role of Carroll Hospital president, he was pleasantly surprised to find a community that shared so many of his values. “Not many community hospitals have the caliber of programs that Carroll Hospital does, and the support of our community has made it all possible,” he says. “I haven’t always seen that at other places in my career. It blew me away quite honestly.”
Now Hoover is looking forward to being a steward of everything that the community has built together. “I’m a firm believer in servant leadership,” he says. “Yes, I serve at the pleasure of our board, our staff and LifeBridge Health leadership, but I’m ultimately here to serve the needs of the community. That’s my purpose: to create the best healthcare possible for the people we serve.”
From the 2020 Carroll Hospital Annual Review
