The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania has tapped Philadelphia native Albert P. Black Jr. to be its chief operating officer.

Black has spent 10 years as an administrator at Eagleville Hospital and was most recently associate hospital director for 16 years at Temple University Hospital.

In the newly created position, Black, 59, will focus on three key areas of the hospital’s mission—clinical care, medical education and research.

Black’s leadership at HUP comes during a time of particular hardship for hospitals nationwide, which must reconcile low reimbursements for medical care with high patient expectations.

Black has developed programs that have earned him several national accolades, including the 1996 Men Making a Difference Award, given by U.S. Congressman Chakah Fattah.