The Pullman Regional Hospital’s Board of Commissioners has appointed Cheryl Oliver as its new president following a public meeting on Jan. 7. Oliver, who is the associate dean for professional programs at Washington State University’s Carson College of Business, has served on the hospital board since 2023.

Oliver succeeds Tricia Grantham, who served as board president multiple times over an eight-year span. Grantham will continue her service on the board through the end of her term in 2027. Other leadership changes include the appointment of Anna Nofsinger as secretary, with PJ Sanchez continuing in his role as vice president.

When reflecting on her new leadership role, Oliver highlighted the strong connection between her work at the university and her service to the hospital.

“WSU has been a wonderful place to learn and practice public service,” Oliver said.

She said the two roles share a common foundation. “The similarities between working for the university and serving the hospital are many,” Oliver said. “Both are publicly owned organizations that must adhere to federal, state and local requirements and provide value and service to our stakeholders, stewarding public resources wisely for the benefit of the community.”

Oliver credits her career at WSU with preparing her for this position.

“I have been fortunate to learn and grow at WSU through a variety of experiences that have helped me develop leadership and administrative capabilities,” Oliver said.

As she begins her tenure, Oliver has outlined four key priorities: enhancing community engagement, ensuring high-quality care, overseeing hospital expansion and preserving the hospital’s status as a public organization.

“During the year that I will be president, I am completely aligned with the interest of our hospital administration and teams to hearing and serving the needs of the community,” Oliver said.

Oliver emphasized her focus remains on maintaining on pace progress on the expansion and equipping the hospital to remain public into the future.

“During the year that I will be president, I am completely aligned with the interest of our hospital administration and teams to hearing and serving the needs of the community, ensuring a high quality care experience, maintaining on pace progress on the expansion and equipping ourselves to remain public into the future.” Oliver said.