Washington, DC – Reservoir Communications Group recently welcomed five new team members, including Gina Comottor as Vice President. Their unique backgrounds in public affairs, corporate communications, advocacy, and health policy reflect the firm’s commitment to continuing to build on its strengths in these areas.

Gina joins Reservoir as a Vice President following her most recent role as Director of Corporate Communications at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). There, she led executive, employee, and volunteer leadership communications to advance the organization’s mission to conquer cancer. Previously, Gina managed innovative programs for health care and biopharmaceutical companies at the global advisory and advocacy firm APCO. She has also held corporate communications and public relations positions at VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s official tourism marketing corporation, and The Moore Agency. Gina holds a B.A. in Communication from Florida State University.

Reservoir also announced the additions of Mara Novak, Allison Kight, Amanda Scott, and Elana Charlson.

Mara returns to Reservoir as a Senior Manager with a strong background in health policy research and public health advocacy with specific expertise in the biopharmaceutical and vaccines spaces. Prior to rejoining Reservoir, Mara worked at Avalere where she focused on vaccine coverage and reimbursement policy in addition to work across broader preventive services. In this role, she supported efforts to address barriers to vaccination through stakeholder education, policy analyses, and thought leadership. Mara holds a B.A. in International Studies from American University and an M.P.H. from The George Washington University.

Allison joins Reservoir as a Manager from The Reilly Group, a public affairs firm specializing in improving mental health and wellbeing. There, she managed an advocacy initiative to ensure perinatal mental health is a national and state priority, carried out through a broad national coalition and state-level policy work. Prior, she worked at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supporting cutting-edge biomedical research and advising senior scientific staff on lab administration. Allison holds a B.A. in English and Anthropology with a concentration in Archaeology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and an M.P.H. from The George Washington University.

Amanda comes to Reservoir as a Senior Associate with a background in global health and child welfare, and a passion for promoting health equity. Previously, Amanda worked at PATH, a global health nonprofit dedicated to achieving health equity. In her role, she supported the introduction and scale-up of new health technologies and people-centered service delivery models to enhance the accessibility, uptake, and continuity of HIV, tuberculosis, and hepatitis services across the continuums of care. Amanda holds a B.S. in Public Health with a minor in Education from American University and an M.P.H. from The George Washington University.

Elana joins Reservoir as an Associate with a background in health policy research and a passion for advancing health equity. Previously, Elana worked at Avalere, where she conducted health equity research on issues related to women’s brain health, Medicaid expansion, and vaccine coverage and access. Across projects, she crafted analytical insights and messaging toolkits to help life sciences companies and advocacy groups understand the sociopolitical factors impacting patient access to and uptake of healthcare services. Elana holds a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Global Health Studies from Northwestern University.

About Reservoir Communications Group

Reservoir Communications Group is a leading health care consultancy focused on helping clients address their most important business, advocacy, policy and reputation challenges and opportunities. Learn more at https://reservoircg.com/.

At Reservoir we often work on women’s health issues and we know all too well that being a women’s health advocate can be an exercise in frustration. Why does it often take ten years for women to be diagnosed with endometriosis when 1 in 10 women have the condition? Why are the symptoms of heart attack so often missed in women when heart disease is the leading cause of death in women? And why has seemingly every woman been told – or know someone who has been told – her symptoms are “all in her head” or “just due to stress”? The challenges are deep-seated and stem from a lack of research and a lack of awareness.

But in 2024 I am much more hopeful than ever before because the examples above come straight from a speech given yesterday by our nation’s first lady, Dr. Jill Biden. At an event hosted by Maria Shriver’s Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement and the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) she clearly articulated the challenges we’ve been grappling with for decades.

Through conversations with the tenacious Maria Shriver and the broader women’s health community, Dr. Biden became a champion of women’s health. And in the State of the Union address earlier this year President Joe Biden called for $12 billion in new funding for women’s health research and followed this with a broad executive order to advance and prioritize research on women’s health across federal research and budgets.

As a long-time board member and current chair of SWHR it has been thrilling and gratifying to see these big moves and the palpable new momentum. Tonight we’ll certainly celebrate this moment at the Society’s annual awards gala with a packed house and a champagne toast.

However, we are clear-eyed. We know that the hard work is just beginning; the ball is rolling but the road ahead is filled with bumps and dead ends. Turning calls for funding – even those from the president of the United States – into actual funding is an uphill battle. And ensuring funding turns into valuable research and real change is a multi-year or a multi-decade process.

Knowing this, we are glad to have so many committed champions of women’s health. The women’s health community is strong, determined and more aligned than ever. We are committed to progress and to bringing it to all women, including women of color who have often been left behind in the past. In addition, leaders across the broader patient community, across academia, across industry recognize that so many diseases uniquely, differently or disproportionately impact women, from Alzheimer’s to autoimmune diseases to many cancers and beyond. Now is the time for us all to be women’s health advocates.

National Minority Health Month provides a timely reminder for public health and industry leaders to reflect on strategies for reducing disparities and improving the health outcomes of marginalized communities. There is a clear consensus that access to care, income and wealth gaps, education, environmental factors and social and community context (including racism and discrimination) influence health disparities across populations. Quantitative and qualitative data increasingly help us understand these disparities and track them over time. As we do so, it’s critical to recognize that the ways we collect, analyze, present and disseminate data have important implications for health equity.

The Biden Administration has firmly emphasized the critical role of data in uncovering and addressing our most pressing health care challenges. In fact, President Biden signed an executive order aimed at promoting racial equity and bolstering support for marginalized communities. As part of this directive, the Biden-Harris Administration tasked the Interagency Working Group on Equitable Data with the responsibility of enhancing the collection, analysis and application of demographic data to drive equity initiatives.

In addition, many public health organizations are advocating for data equity. “Data is the oxygen that powers our ability to detect and respond to threats to health and we are at a pivotal moment in the modernization of the public health data infrastructure,” said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Mandy Cohen in a recent press release.

Equitable data has been impeded by limited access to technology, language barriers and historical distrust among marginalized communities toward collection efforts due to mistreatment by public health and medical professionals. As a report from the National Committee for Quality Assurance and Grantmakers in Health shows, the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the urgent need for systemic reforms in public health data management, highlighting issues such as missing or unstandardized data. Detailed, disaggregated data for American Indian and Alaska Native, Middle Eastern and North African, and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities is often lacking, which can obscure underlying health disparities among subgroups.

To address such issues, a 2023 report from the National Minority Quality Forum and BlueCross BlueShield Association shows that achieving data equity demands sustained, collaborative and intentional efforts. There is no single sector that possesses the capacity to effectively address systemic disparities in health care, the report says. The absence of national standards for data collection, sharing and protection poses a significant obstacle to building a robust national data ecosystem, exacerbated by disparities in state-level data prioritization.

Similarly, the organization Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy recognizes centering equity is not a one-time action. Equity should be at the forefront of every stage of the data life cycle — including planning, collection, data access, algorithm usage, data analysis and data reporting. By fostering collaboration among health care leaders, social service agencies and community-based organizations, we can collectively tackle the challenges of achieving data equity.

Here at Reservoir, we collaborate with leaders in data equity who are making substantial progress in tackling these challenges. Our clients are actively advocating for the incorporation of data equity principles into their operations, forging partnerships with researchers, funders and community leaders — because if we don’t actively ensure that inclusive data practices are widely adopted, the gaps in health outcomes between different groups of people will remain.

In our work, we often find ourselves asking the question: “What do patients value?” The answer may seem obvious – patients value products and services in health care that make them healthier. Of course, this is true, to a degree. It is like saying that homebuyers value houses that provide shelter and don’t fall down. It’s necessary, but not sufficient. A range of rational and emotional factors ultimately influence the decision.

Each of us values health care products and services we receive through a series of mental processes that consciously and subconsciously evaluates costs and benefits. The result of those costs and benefits weighed against each other constitutes value.

Consider a simple example: should I get my annual physical this year? The benefits would include peace of mind, the potential for early diagnosis of an illness and perhaps the opportunity to interact with a physician who treats me with compassion. The costs might include the time and expense of missed work, an out-of-pocket cost, my fear of them finding an undiagnosed condition or the discomfort of the exam itself. Ultimately, I must decide – but is that decision purely rational? Probably not. It is the sum of my experiences, hopes, fears and emotions.

In all of our work—from policy formulation and advocacy, to communicating the value of a given product or service—we routinely encounter the need to answer this question about what patients value. In health care, most companies aspire to be patient-centric. But to help a company become more patient-centric in a way that is differentiating from its competitors and actually advances its strategic business goals, first you need to capture patient perspective in an intentional, measurable and systematic way.

We designed the Patient Value Model (PVM) to respond to the needs we were encountering in our work. The PVM provides a quantitative model that can be measured over time with a particular audience to provide a roadmap and a benchmark for patient engagement. Also, by factoring perceived costs into the equation, it gives a more realistic and actionable picture of how patients ultimately make decisions and assess value. It’s impossible to understand what patients want without understanding what they don’t want and the impact that has on overall assessment of value.

The PVM was designed with input from patient leaders and experts in value and validated and tested with 1,000 patients representing a range of medical conditions. The model can be re-fielded to gather insights in specific target populations and demographics, such as patients in a particular therapeutic area or those who are taking a particular medicine.

Our hope is that organizations will use the model to improve the integration of patient perspective into every facet of their business – from the overall approach of the enterprise to product development and design, patient engagement and marketing and communications of products and services. By approaching patient perspective in a comprehensive and measurable way, organizations can gain insights into their customers and also hold themselves accountable to ensure they are meeting all the needs of patients.

Brands that use digital display or sponsored advertising online are indeed “losing their cookies” as Google continues phasing out technical support for third-party cookies. Browsers such as Safari and Firefox have already implemented a default opt-out setting for users, and Google’s Chrome (which maintains 60% of the browser market) began eliminating support in January 2024. The good news is that there are several other options to better understand and reach key audiences.

What are cookies – and how do they work?

Cookies are small text files created by websites you visit and stored on your computer. There are two varieties:

• First-party cookies are created by websites you directly visit, which can track anonymous behavioral information on visitors, keep you signed in, remember your preferences, and provide useful content.
• Third-party cookies are created by websites other than the one you are currently visiting. For example, if you visit a clothing website, you may start seeing ads and links to that same site (including specific products you looked at) on other websites you visit.

Third-party cookies have come under fire in recent years because they can be used to track users across the internet without their knowledge or consent, impacting privacy and data security. Legislation, along with rising public concerns about privacy, have led to their demise.

What does this mean for advertisers?

There are a range of new and traditional methods to reach important audiences and navigate the upcoming post-cookie era.

1. Leverage first-party data. Even though third-party cookies may be going away, first-party cookies are here to stay. An important source of user data will shift to digital identity — datasets about visitors such as email addresses, IP/device identifiers, and login-based information. First-party data sources also include surveys and subscriptions.
2. Research public data. Publicly available information can include census data, search trends, and social channel data.
3. Use contextual advertising. Contextual ads are placed near specific content on websites. For example, if a user is looking at an article about innovation in cancer treatments, health care organizations can place advertising on that page without impacting user privacy. This is a great way to create and build relationships with audiences who are already interested in your content.
4. Embrace artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Newer technologies can play a pivotal role in paid media strategies, with the capacity to analyze vast amounts of data, understand user behavior, and predict preferences.

By developing new paid media strategies, brands can not only adapt but thrive in a changing digital marketing environment. Building authentic connections with audiences is at the heart of these strategies, ensuring that companies continue to engage and resonate with their target demographic in a privacy-conscious environment.

As a graduate student and public affairs practitioner living in Washington, D.C., I sit at the nexus of policymaking and transformative change. Surrounded by professors with profound legislative expertise and colleagues at Reservoir who are equally passionate about public health, I’m constantly inspired to strengthen my role as an advocate for equity.

A few weeks ago, I participated in a panel at the American Public Health Association (APHA) 2023 Annual Meeting in Atlanta, attended by 13,000 people over the course of four days. I had the opportunity to discuss my research on the impact of post-incarceration laws on vulnerable communities and the need for policy reform, highlighting barriers to accessing health care services and community assistance programs.

Too often, the health care needs of formerly incarcerated individuals go overlooked. A survey of recently released individuals from correctional facilities revealed that a majority faced physical health, mental health or substance use issues. Additionally, over 60% of women and nearly 40% of men in this group had multiple health conditions.

As both a presenter and a participant in the APHA 2023 Annual Meeting, I gleaned several invaluable insights that have deepened my understanding of the intricate connections between research, policy and advocacy. Here are my key takeaways:

Bridging Public Health Initiatives with Policy Change

A vital learning from the conference is the growing importance of complementing public health actions and initiatives with legislative change. This ensures that community interventions are both effective and supported by robust policy frameworks, leading to sustainable health improvements.

Our team’s expertise lies at the heart of this strategy. We’re not just focused on making a difference within a community; we’re actively shaping the environment for broader policy change that strengthens equitable public health practices. My own analysis found that federal policy can severely limit the efficacy of community-based assistance programs, despite the wide availability of programs for Black and Hispanic individuals reentering society after being incarcerated. This furthers inequities that reverberate through multiple generations. When decade-long policies trump local solutions, community services that range from addressing food insecurity to providing health care become extremely challenging to access.

Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Racial Equity

By bringing together experts from different backgrounds, the conference fostered rich dialogues on ways to dismantle racial inequities in health care. Research sessions not only shed light on the unique challenges faced by marginalized communities during the pandemic but also showcased innovative strategies to promote inclusivity and fairness in the workforce moving forward – a key theme core to Reservoir’s values.

One focus area of my panel’s Q&A session highlighted practical approaches to implementing DEI initiatives in organizational structures, as well as the importance of affordable higher education to help improve social upward mobility for incarcerated individuals. Given that 25% of formerly incarcerated people don’t have a high school diploma (which is nearly twice as high as the rate for the general public), we discussed the prominent paradigm shift in health care towards holistic treatment approaches, taking into account the conditions in the environments where people are born and live – in other words, understanding the social determinants of health, which the Biden administration and HHS have earmarked as a cornerstone in their public health blueprint.

Strengthening Community Health Through Relationships

Partnerships between health departments and community organizations have been instrumental in seamlessly connecting public health practice with academic insights. These collaborations are essential, enhancing the capacity of health departments, educating and training public health professionals, and advancing community-based research.

Reservoir prioritizes strategic partnerships, complemented by a deep comprehension of the ever-changing health care landscape. By consistently working alongside community leaders, we gain direct visibility into the most urgent health concerns faced by different groups – including racial and ethnic minorities. This collaboration guides us in creating culturally sensitive and impactful messages that effectively engage all communities.

Advancing health equity and driving meaningful change is no simple task. The challenges are immense, but so are the possibilities. At Reservoir, everything we do is driven by the opportunity to promote health – from providing unique research insights that inform public health strategies to continuously expanding our vast network of health equity experts.

I remain hopeful, steadfast and determined in my commitment to address ongoing health inequities alongside exceptional colleagues – in D.C. and beyond.

I recently participated in two panels hosted by Patients Rising Now about the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Accelerated Approval Program, which allows for the earlier approval of drugs that treat serious conditions. As a life sciences consultant, a trained pharmacist, and a rare disease patient and advocate, I was honored to join health care experts and other patients in meaningful dialogue about the importance of this regulatory pathway. While the panels spoke to different audiences – patients and legislative staffers – both focused on the importance of developing treatments for rare and terminal diseases.

Here are a few key takeaways from the important conversations:

Accelerated approvals can benefit patients who need them the most.

Robin Strongin from the National Consumers League opened the Patients Rising Now Hill Briefing with the history of the accelerated approval pathway and how its creation stemmed from patient activism during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s. Patients collaborated with the FDA and providers to allow quicker approvals using early signs of clinical benefit while maintaining robust safety assessments. In the 30 years since, we have seen 278 accelerated approvals, mostly across rare and terminal diseases. One study shows that cancer treatments approved under this pathway were available approximately three to four years earlier.[1]

Fellow panelist Mel Mann shared his experience as the second patient enrolled in a leukemia clinical trial, after being given only a handful of years left to live. He is since a 28-year terminal leukemia survivor—28 years that allowed him to live a life with his family, watch his daughter grow up to become a physician, and for him to become a patient advocate for clinical trials, cancer patients, and health equity. That leukemia trial was for a medicine that came to market earlier through an accelerated approval indication, and—he underscored—it is this regulatory pathway that allows more life-changing treatments and outcomes for patients who need them most.

Increased barriers to treatment are dangerous for patients and the future of health care.

Both panels could not ignore the recent decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to restrict Medicare coverage for certain Alzheimer’s treatments. Panelists discussed the implications for creating additional barriers to therapy after FDA approval, noting how such decisions can limit access patients have to current medications as well as future investment in research and development.

John Stanford, Executive Director of Incubate Coalition, brought this perspective to life: “Biopharmaceutical and biotech investment comes with a great deal of risk, yet the benefit to patients nationwide is unmatched when the system works properly. Regrettably, CMS’ decision could upend this successful system by cutting off investment in the research and development of treatments for Alzheimer’s disease—and many other diseases with unmet medical needs.”

Such precedent, argued the panelists, threatens the current and future treatment options for patients with the highest unmet medical needs. They further underscored that innovation requires coordinated efforts from policymakers, health care stakeholders, and patients, much in the same way the accelerated approval pathway was founded.

Both events reinforced the need to continue highlighting the importance and value of this program and why we as an industry must build on its successes to increase patient access to needed therapies.

[1] Beaver JA, Howie LJ, Pelosof L, et al. A 25-Year Experience of US Food and Drug Administration Accelerated Approval of Malignant Hematology and Oncology Drugs and Biologics: A Review. JAMA oncology. 2018;4(6):849-856

The Reservoir Advocacy & Alliance Network (RAAN) recently convened its diverse experts and seasoned strategic partners for a discussion on the emerging importance of patients-centered approaches to health care and their role in closing health disparities.

Patients-centricity revolves around the core belief that patients are not uniform. They face unique and diverse obstacles and challenges, which cannot be addressed through a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Improving health outcomes requires a deep understanding of distinct medical conditions, experiences, needs, and priorities.

During the convening, the RAAN discussed ways in which patients-centered care can be leveraged to improve outcomes for all patients, as well as ways in which the need for patients-centered care has become apparent within their own work. Read key takeaways from the conversation below.

1) Increasing Diversity and Improving Patient Outcomes Go Hand-in-Hand

RAAN members discussed the importance of diversity across the health care continuum, noting that patients must see their diversity reflected in their providers, advocates, and leaders. “You can’t think of patients as a monolithic group. There needs to be a lot of thought given to how health care is delivered,” one member said. Several RAAN members touched on the importance of patients-centricity in their own communities, such as the American Indian/Alaska Native and caregiver communities, noting how centering the specific needs of this group has led to improved health outcomes.

Another RAAN member touched on the importance of prioritizing patients-centricity in health care as early as the research stage. “If the goal is more personalized medicine — which it is — researchers must be able to understand all of us, not just some of us. That includes not just representation in research, but also representation in researchers,” they noted. By increasing diversity, patient-provider relationships are also strengthened, and trust is bolstered across the health care system more broadly.

2) Patients Must Be Connected to Policy Decisions

Members also discussed the paramount need to center policy decisions around patients and their lived experiences. By seeking feedback from people of different backgrounds and identities, policymakers are better equipped to shape policies that address specific needs. “The policies that patients look for are the ones that protect them,” noted a participant, such as those that enable access to life-saving vaccines or others that recognize the social determinants of health as key drivers of health inequities.

Grappling with patients-centricity? Reach out to Chrystine Zacherau or another member of the Reservoir team.

Washington, DC – Reservoir Communications Group has welcomed six new team members, including Clare Krusing as an Executive Vice President, and Rikki Campbell Ogden as Design Director. Their unique backgrounds in corporate communications, advocacy, and graphic design deepen the firm’s strategic prowess.

Clare returns to Reservoir as an Executive Vice President with significant experience leading corporate communications, rapid response and crisis media efforts, brand management, and advocacy campaigns. Prior to joining Reservoir, she led external communications for Morgan Health, a business unit within JPMorgan Chase focused on improving the quality, equity, and affordability of employer-sponsored health care. She also served as the lead spokesperson and press secretary for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the national trade association representing the health insurance industry, and as an associate at APCO Worldwide. Clare holds a B.A. in Journalism from Indiana University and an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland.

Rikki comes to Reservoir as our first Design Director, bringing with her more than 20 years of experience in the public affairs, health care, nonprofit, and government finance sectors. For more than a decade, Rikki served as a design consultant for the IFC/World Bank Group where she worked on long-form, data-heavy research reports, and social media campaigns, as well as overall branding and online interactive assets for the annual Sustainability Exchange, a global convening of infrastructure companies, local leaders, women pioneers, creative visionaries, and civil society champions. Rikki holds a B.F.A. in Graphic Design from The University of Tulsa.

Reservoir also announced the additions of Lauren McQuatters, Hanna Hayden, Megan Tebbenhoff, and John “Jack” Holdsworth, expanding the firm’s public affairs, research, and communications capabilities.

Lauren joins Reservoir as a Manager after her prior role leading communications and marketing efforts at an early-stage health tech startup. Previously, Lauren worked on the value and access communications team at Real Chemistry, where she developed both corporate-level and product-specific value messaging for pharmaceutical clients. Lauren holds an M.P.H. from Columbia University, specializing in population health and maternal and child health.

Hanna joins Reservoir as a Manager after previous roles leveraging experience in corporate communications, public affairs campaigns, and vaccine education awareness efforts. Hanna comes from an agency background where she previously supported medical associations, scientific meetings, and health and wellbeing nonprofits. Hanna holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Kansas.

Megan comes to Reservoir as a Senior Associate, harnessing her expertise in both quantitative and qualitative data analysis and Medicare policy. Megan started her career at The Lewin Group as a Health Management Consultant. Megan holds a B.A. in Neuroscience & International Relations from the University of Southern California and an M.P.H. from Columbia University.

John joins Reservoir as an Associate, utilizing strategic communications and public health advocacy experience. Prior to joining the team full-time, John was an intern with Reservoir and engaged with a wide variety of clients, helping to meet their business and policy objectives. John holds a B.A. in Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government from American University, where he is now pursuing his M.A. in Political Communication.

About Reservoir Communications Group

Reservoir Communications Group is a leading health care consultancy focused on helping clients address their most important challenges and opportunities in reputation, advocacy, and brand strategy. Learn more at https://reservoircg.com/