PHOTO COURTESY UPMC CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF PITTSBURGH

Diane Hupp has been tapped to be the new president of UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, making her both the first woman and the first person with a nursing background to hold the position. She will start her new role Feb. 1.

“It is a great honor and privilege to now serve as president of UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh,” Hupp said in a press release. “Delivering the highest level of care to our children and families has been a passion for the majority of my life and I am simply humbled and grateful for the opportunity. The community and beyond needs us now more than ever as we commit to continuing to serve all who seek our care.”

Hupp’s career at Children’s began 36 years ago as a volunteer, and later as a child care assistant while in nursing school at Duquesne University.

Over the last three decades, she has served in multiple administrative and leadership roles, including chief nursing officer, vice president of patient care services and vice president of operations.

At Children’s, she has served as a staff nurse, assistant head nurse manager, director of medical services and patient service manager on various inpatient units. She also has been the nursing director of perioperative and surgery centers/services and the executive director of nursing and surgical services. 

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital has said she has been “at the forefront leading the response efforts” and “integral to the success of UPMC’s COVID-19 community vaccination efforts.”

In partnership with the Pittsburgh Penguins, she has led the coordination of the largest drive-through mass vaccination clinic.

“I am immensely proud that we found the leader with the expertise, business acumen, compassion and commitment to build upon the excellent reputation of this nationally ranked pediatric hospital right here within our own walls,” Mark Sevco, president of UPMC Hospitals, said in the release. “Diane has dedicated her many talents to our goal of providing the right care for every patient, every time, while inspiring high patient and family satisfaction.”

Her leadership skills have been recognized by her peers in the past. Hupp was one of Pittsburgh Magazine’s Excellence in Nursing honorees in the program’s inaugural year in 2016, receiving acclaim for her leadership skills in a wide range of areas. At that point, she was responsible for overseeing most hospital clinical and operational departments, as well as its facilities, maintenance and environmental services, food and nutritional services, public safety, patient safety, quality and accreditation, parking and hospitality. She told Pittsburgh Magazine that, with so many different things to do, there was no such thing as a “typical day.” 

A panel of regional nursing leaders, educators and administrators evaluated and selected the honorees.

With the help of Hupp’s leadership, Children’s Hospital has received two Magnet designations with work in progress toward a third. Magnet designations identify organizations worldwide where nursing leaders successfully align their nursing strategic goals to improve the organization’s patient outcomes, according to its website.

Hupp has spearheaded a pediatric transplant network on the East Coast, too, training and providing leadership to ensure more opportunity for children awaiting transplants.