Pullman Regional Hospital Foundation appoints new president, board members

The Pullman Regional Hospital Foundation has appointed a new president and welcomed three new members to its Board of Directors.

The hospital announced in a news release Monday that Wayne Druffel is the newly elected three-year term president. Pullman residents Brandon Burch, Marcia Saneholtz and Dave Williams are the newest additions to the board.

Druffel joined the foundation in 2023. The news release said the Druffel family has been strong philanthropic partners, advocates and volunteers for the hospital over the past decade.

He was co-chairperson of the Next Era of Excellence fundraising campaign, which raised more than $7.5 million for the hospital and more than $1 million for the COVID-19 Emergency Fund, according to the news release.

The Druffel family established the Norm & Jessie Druffel Family Endowment in 2015, which the news release said helps support the hospital’s Orthopedic Center of Excellence and the Regional High School Athletic Training Program.

Druffel, along with his brothers and son, owns Norm Druffel & Sons, which the news release said is one of the largest wheat and grain producers in Whitman County. He also is the owner of Zeppoz Restaurant & Bowling.

Burch retired in 2019 after a 30-year career in information technology at the Washington State University College of Medicine, according to the news release.

Saneholtz spent 28 years as an administrator at WSU. The news release said she previously served on the foundation board in the early 2000s.

Williams retired in 2016 as an electrical/system engineer, according to the news release. He and his wife are longtime hospital volunteers, who at one point won the “Volunteer of the Year” award twice.

The Pullman Regional Hospital Foundation Board is a nonprofit charity composed of 19 members. Governed by its volunteers, the news release said the group is committed to continuing the hospital’s excellence in care and service.

The foundation supports the hospital’s annual priority projects as well as long-term programs like the Family Medicine Residency Program and the Regional High School Athletic Training Program. The news release said it also partners with WSU’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine and local schools.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com.