Experienced Healthcare Consulting & Communications
Xenophon Medicine & Science works for a wide variety of clients on healthcare issues including medical and crisis communications advisory services for COVID-19 pandemic. We are working with companies like Caesars Entertainment (68,000 employees) and El Dorado Resorts (18,900 employees), to provide medically based information for reopening and development of a long-term coronavirus business continuity plan. Another client is the energy company Midcontinent ISO which runs the electrical transmission grid in a third of the United States and is the definition of critical infrastructure. Xenophon has been helping this 14–year client to secure their operations and control centers in response to COVID-19 by using epidemiological modeling to craft a risk-based crisis management plan.
Xenophon Medicine & Science’s work is based on the latest science and medical knowledge from some of the world’s top doctors in infectious disease and public health. Our epidemiologists, physicians and scientists provide clients with the latest medical and scientific knowledge, tools and research — ensuring that business decisions are based on the latest health information. We work on business continuity and disaster recovery planning, workforce and customer protection plans, infections disease technology applications, Sars-CoV-2 virus and antibody test protocols, coronavirus crisis communications, rapid response and in numerous other areas.
At the core of Xenophon’s Sara-CoV-2 work are three outstanding epidemiologists and public health physicians and scientists. Xenophon’s Chief Medical Officer is Dr. Davidson Hamer, an internationally renowned epidemiologist from Boston University who has spent over 30 years fighting the toughest diseases around the world. Dr. Barry Chaiken is a Harvard trained doctor who is board certified in Public Health, is a former top Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer for the Centers for Disease Control and is one of the nation’s leading experts applying public health technology during crises. Dr. Brooke Nichols is also from Boston University and is a top virologist and modeling-epidemiologist who works with clients to model their work forces and customers as a business recovery tool.
The coronavirus crisis communications response team also includes experts from one of the nation’s top crisis management pr firms, including communications professionals David Fuscus, CEO, Mark Hazlin, Senior Vice President, and Jennifer Lay, Vice President.
Xenophon Medicine & Science Team
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. David Hamer
Davidson Hamer, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FASTMH, FISTM is a Professor of Global Health and Medicine at the Boston University School of Public Health and School of Medicine, and Adjunct Professor of Nutrition at the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Dr. Hamer, a board-certified specialist in infectious diseases with a particular interest in tropical infectious diseases, has extensive field experience in neonatal and child survival research including studies of micronutrient interventions, maternal and neonatal health, malaria, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases. During the last 20+ years, he has supervised and provided technical support to more than 50 studies in developing countries that evaluated interventions for improving neonatal survival, improving access for pregnant women to emergency obstetrical care, treatment and prevention of malaria, HIV/AIDS, micronutrient deficiencies, diarrheal disease, and pneumonia. Dr. Hamer received a MD from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and a BA in biology and French from Amherst College. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, Infectious Diseases Society of America, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and the International Society of Travel Medicine. Dr. Hamer currently has active projects in Bangladesh, Zambia, South Africa, and the United States. Major current projects include neonatal sepsis prevention using prebiotics and probiotics in Bangladesh; using community health workers to improve early childhood development in rural South Africa, antiretroviral adherence among congenitally infected HIV-positive children in Lusaka, Zambia; and a scaled-up evaluation of community-based mothers’ groups for improving early child development in rural Zambia. In addition, Dr. Hamer is the PI for the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network, a global network of 70 sites in 31 countries that conducts surveillance of emerging infectious diseases using returning travelers, immigrants, and refugees as sentinels of infection (www.istm.org/geosentinel).
Senior Medical and Scientific Advisor
Dr. Barry P. Chaiken
Barry P. Chaiken, MD, MPH has over 25 years’ experience in healthcare information technology, patient safety, clinical transformation, and business intelligence. He previously worked with the National Institutes of Health, U.K’s. National Health Service, McKesson, BearingPoint, and Infor.
During his career Chaiken provided expertise in quality and patient safety to provider, payor, and life science organizations helping them utilize information technology to improve clinical and administrative activities. He has served as guest lecturer and consultant on topics including patient safety, clinician adoption of information technology, quality improvement, and healthcare analytics. Chaiken also assisted hospitals and technology firms in the creation of medical software products and services.
Chaiken is currently Clinical Lead at Tableau Healthcare where he offers his expertise in clinical transformation, quality improvement, and healthcare analytics. He is board certified in General Preventive Medicine and Public Health as well as Health Care Quality Management. Chaiken served as a Healthcare Advisory Board member to numerous organizations as head of DocsNetwork, his own boutique healthcare IT consulting company. He has delivered more than 60 CME lectures, and is currently on the editorial board of the journal of Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare. Chaiken writes a column on technology and quality for the journal Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare, and frequently contributes commentary to the online publication Health Data Management. He also served as Conference
Chair of the annual Digital Healthcare Conference and contributed to WTN Media’s online publications.
Chaiken received his medical degree from SUNY Downstate Medical Center, his masters in public health degree in health services administration from the Harvard School of Public Health, and his bachelors of arts degree in psychology from the University at Albany. He acquired his specialty training from the Centers for Disease Control as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer and from the New Jersey State Department of Health as a preventive medicine resident. Chaiken served as a Board member (2006-2010), Board Liaison to HIMSS Europe (2006-2009), and Board Chair (2009-2010), and continues his involvement as a Fellow of the Health Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS). As an Adjunct Professor at Boston University, Chaiken is a guest lecturer in both graduate and undergraduate level courses in healthcare information technology in its Questrom School of Management.
Senior Medical and Scientific Advisor
Dr. Brooke Nichols
Brooke Nichols, PhD, MSc, is an Assistant Professor at the Boston University School of Public Health’s Department of Global Health. Dr. Nichols is a health economist and infectious disease mathematical modeler, with over 10 years’ experience in infectious diseases. Dr. Nichols’ research experience and interests include dynamic transmission modelling and economic evaluation of treatment as prevention (HIV and HCV) and pre-exposure prophylaxis (HIV), geospatial modelling for efficient resource allocation (HIV testing, self-testing, differentiated models of antiretroviral treatment service delivery, and monitoring of patients on antiretroviral treatment), development of integrated modeling techniques, and translating research into public policy recommendations. Dr. Nichols has active projects in the Netherlands, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi and the United States, and works directly with local governments and international policy making bodies. She holds a PhD from the Department of Virology, Erasmus Medical Center, the Netherlands in infectious disease modeling, a MSc in epidemiology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a BA in International Relations from Mount Holyoke College.
Xenophon Medicine & Science’s services include:
- Coronavirus Crisis Communication
24/7 issues management services to help clients handle the COVID-19 pandemic. - Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
Our team advises clients using decades of experience in the study of infectious disease and the latest scientific information. Our goal is simple: to help clients with a business recovery plan and make decisions based on science and data. - Latest Medical and Scientific Knowledge
As physicians and scientists actively work on the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic, our medical team has access to the latest scientific developments – a key resource because new developments occur almost daily. - Infectious Disease Modeling
Different geographic areas can call for business continuity planning with different elements. Dr. Brooke Nichols is Xenophon’s expert in infectious disease modeling and her projections look at demographics, regional health differences and other factors like anonymous cell phone data to gauge risk in different areas. The modeling is a key tool in developing a coronavirus contingency plan, preparing to re-open, and to maintain on-going operations. - Public Health and Medical Technology
Dr. Barry Chaiken is one of the nation’s top experts in applying public health technology. He helps companies evaluate disease detection technology, employee/customer screening, contact tracing in epidemiology, and other health care tools. - Coronavirus Antibody Test Protocol
The scientific landscape of testing for infection and antibodies is rapidly changing and tests of varying qualities are on the market. Our medical team can help assess tests and create a testing protocol custom designed to fit your workforce or customer base. - Securing Critical Infrastructure
We help companies to keep secure infrastructure up and operating by either assessing or custom designing a coronavirus crisis management plan. Our input on staffing plan, employee quarantines, disease or antibody testing and operating planning is based on the latest science and knowledge about the Sars-CoV-2 virus and the resulting disease, COVID-19.
Xenophon Crisis Response Team News
Getting Back to Work
Getting Back to Work is an ongoing XenSights blog series on emerging from the COVID pandemic.
Coronavirus Crisis Communication Team Leadership
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. David Hamer
Davidson Hamer, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FASTMH, FISTM is a Professor of Global Health and Medicine at the Boston University School of Public Health and School of Medicine, and Adjunct Professor of Nutrition at the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Dr. Hamer, a board-certified specialist in infectious diseases with a particular interest in tropical infectious diseases, has extensive field experience in neonatal and child survival research including studies of micronutrient interventions, maternal and neonatal health, malaria, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases. During the last 20+ years, he has supervised and provided technical support to more than 50 studies in developing countries that evaluated interventions for improving neonatal survival, improving access for pregnant women to emergency obstetrical care, treatment and prevention of malaria, HIV/AIDS, micronutrient deficiencies, diarrheal disease, and pneumonia. Dr. Hamer received a MD from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and a BA in biology and French from Amherst College. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, Infectious Diseases Society of America, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and the International Society of Travel Medicine. Dr. Hamer currently has active projects in Bangladesh, Zambia, South Africa, and the United States. Major current projects include neonatal sepsis prevention using prebiotics and probiotics in Bangladesh; using community health workers to improve early childhood development in rural South Africa, antiretroviral adherence among congenitally infected HIV-positive children in Lusaka, Zambia; and a scaled-up evaluation of community-based mothers’ groups for improving early child development in rural Zambia. In addition, Dr. Hamer is the PI for the GeoSentinel Surveillance Network, a global network of 70 sites in 31 countries that conducts surveillance of emerging infectious diseases using returning travelers, immigrants, and refugees as sentinels of infection (www.istm.org/geosentinel).
Senior Medical and Scientific Advisor
Dr. Brooke Nichols
Brooke Nichols, PhD, MSc, is an Assistant Professor at the Boston University School of Public Health’s Department of Global Health. Dr. Nichols is a health economist and infectious disease mathematical modeler, with over 10 years’ experience in infectious diseases. Dr. Nichols’ research experience and interests include dynamic transmission modelling and economic evaluation of treatment as prevention (HIV and HCV) and pre-exposure prophylaxis (HIV), geospatial modelling for efficient resource allocation (HIV testing, self-testing, differentiated models of antiretroviral treatment service delivery, and monitoring of patients on antiretroviral treatment), development of integrated modeling techniques, and translating research into public policy recommendations. Dr. Nichols has active projects in the Netherlands, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi and the United States, and works directly with local governments and international policy making bodies. She holds a PhD from the Department of Virology, Erasmus Medical Center, the Netherlands in infectious disease modeling, a MSc in epidemiology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and a BA in International Relations from Mount Holyoke College.
CEO & President
David A. Fuscus
David A. Fuscus is CEO and president of Xenophon Strategies, a highly focused public relations firm serving many of the world’s largest companies and organizations. Founded in 2000, Xenophon has key practices in public affairs, public relations, reputation management, crisis communications and government affairs. Xenophon represents clients from the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and Central Asia.
Xenophon Strategies is the Washington, D.C. member firm of the Public Relations Network. PRGN has 50 agencies around the world include every key country in the Americas, Europe and Asia. PRGN members are selected and vetted by the network and invited to join, thus ensuring the highest standard of quality.
“David is immensely talented. He is loaded with strategic management skills and grounded with a down-to-earth realism that allows him to tackle the toughest of problems,” said Jim Clark, the head of Public Policy at the American Society of Association Executives.
Prior to his tenure at Xenophon Strategies, Mr. Fuscus was Vice President of Communications for the airline industry’s trade association, the Air Transport Association. In this position, he was responsible for developing and implementing overall airline industry communications efforts, was a key political strategist for the ATA and served as the airline industry’s chief spokesperson.
Mr. Fuscus also has enjoyed a successful career in politics. He was Deputy Chief of Staff to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge where he served as a key political and media adviser to the governor. He was also the Deputy Director of Ridge’s first election campaign and transition committee.
Prior to his tenure with Gov. Ridge, Mr. Fuscus spent nine years working in Congress as Director of Public Affairs for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and as Deputy Chief of Staff and Press Secretary to Congressman William F. Clinger. Mr. Fuscus has managed numerous political campaigns and continues to serve as a media and political adviser to politicians and business leaders alike.
“David is one of the finest PR and public affairs professionals in business today,” said Rick French, CEO of French/West/Vaughan, “When our clients need help strategizing how best to reach key decision makers… David is the first person we call.”
Mr. Fuscus is heavily involved in crisis communications and has worked with the media on major national and international crises, including representing the airline industry following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and playing a key communications role in eleven major airline accidents. He has worked on thirteen major hurricanes that have hit the United States including Hurricane Katrina.
Public relations and public affairs campaigns designed by Mr. Fuscus have won numerous awards, including the Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil Award, the Thoth Award for Best External PR Campaign and the Thoth Best of Show Award for the year’s top public relations campaign.
Mr. Fuscus is a former member of the Board of Directors of the public relations industry’s trade association, the PR Council.
Senior Vice President
Mark Hazlin
Mark Hazlin has planned and executed strategic communications for some of the most recognized clients in the country on some of the toughest issues challenging organizations today. He is an expert at identifying solutions to help clients communicate better. From digital media to traditional public relations, Mr. Hazlin works to use all of the existing and emerging tools to craft effective and impactful campaigns.
During his career, he has represented Airbus, JFK International Airport, the U.S. Army TARDEC, The Salvation Army, the Midwest ISO, Shell Oil Company, Texaco, WorldCom, Excite!, New York University, NBA Entertainment, Pepsi, and others. He led the team that won the 2018 Golden Award for Reputation and Public Affairs from the Public Relations Global Network, as well as the Silver Award for Communications to Millennials. In the past, he also received awards in digital communications, integrated marketing and satellite media tours from the Public Relations Society of America.
At Xenophon, he is one of the senior leaders in the company’s public relations practice, managing teams and ensuring the agency delivers the exceptional customer service for which it is known.
Prior to Xenophon, he worked as a journalist, writing stories on a broad range of topics for USA Today, Forbes.com, PRWeek, Orlando Sentinel, New York Resident and other local and national media outlets.
Also, he spent eight years in public relations, at firms in Washington and New York City including The Marino Organization (TMO) and Dan Klores Communications (DKC, formerly Dan Klores Associates). From 2001 to 2003, he was vice president at TMO, a boutique communications agency specializing in media relations. There he was the primary day-to-day account manager for the team that helped unveil the new, $1.4 billion Terminal 4 at JFK.
In 1998, he co-founded DKAi, the new media division of Dan Klores Communications, and led multiple account teams during the dot-com boom. He began his career at DKC in 1996, focusing on account support and pitching and placing stories in local and national media.
Mr. Hazlin earned a master’s degree in Journalism from New York University in 2004, and graduated from Boston College in 1996, with a bachelor’s degree in English and Political Science. He lives in Herndon, Virginia, and works in Xenophon’s Washington, D.C., office. He has been with Xenophon for 14 years.
Vice President
Jennifer Lay
Jennifer joined Xenophon Strategies in 2010 after spending eight years at a Nashville-based PR firm. There she honed her skills in media relations, crisis communications, reputation management and integration of communications services for consumer-based clients such as, Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, Saint Thomas Health System, the leading faith-based health care system in Tennessee, Psychiatric Solutions Inc., formerly the largest provider of behavioral health care in the U.S., Bridgestone Americas, Inc., Johnston & Murphy and Jack Daniel’s.
Specially for MNAA, Jennifer provided crisis communications surrounding an American Airlines plane diverting to the airport when a note claiming a bomb threat was found onboard. To intensify the matter, Air Force One, carrying President Bush on a trip, flew into the same Nashville airport earlier that day. As new communications staff were hired, Jennifer coordinated and facilitated numerous media tours and deskside briefings as well as conducting media trainings. Jennifer also oversaw the design and production of collateral materials, interactive and broadcast services ensuring brand consistency for MNAA’s new logo, TV commercial highlighting major airport renovations and expansion, and seasonal travel ad campaigns.
In addition, Jennifer strategized, planned and executed numerous, award-winning PR campaigns on a local, regional and national level for nonprofits, aviation and food industries.
As a vice president at Xenophon Strategies, Jennifer leads various account teams that provide planning and implementation of communications strategy, traditional and social media relations, and crisis communications. Her knowledge of the aviation industry has grown working with clients such as ATR and Air Evac Lifeteam, she has continued her consumer PR expertise with Williams-Sonoma, Inc., and found a passion for the energy industry working with Midcontinent Independent System Operator.
Jennifer received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Information Sciences from the University of Alabama.
Managing Director
Bob Brady
As a managing director at Xenophon Strategies, Bob Brady provides communications counsel and support for Airbus and other clients in Xenophon’s transportation practice. Mr. Brady’s responsibilities include media relations, social media, and crisis communications work, as well as developing proactive feature stories. Mr. Brady has worked with numerous national media outlets and successfully placed stories in The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, Bloomberg, Reuters, Associated Press, NBC News, CNN, MSNBC and elsewhere. This is in addition to his work on numerous local and grassroots public relations campaigns for clients.
While representing Airbus, Mr. Brady has worked on several major events for the aircraft manufacturer that have had a global impact on aviation. Most notably, Mr. Brady worked directly with Airbus staff in the U.S. and Europe to highlight the announcement of Airbus opening its first-ever, U.S.-based manufacturing facility, which had a local and international appeal to it. This not only encompassed the day of the announcement, but a multi-year plan that involved the groundbreaking of the facility, milestones throughout construction and finally, the grand opening of the facility. Throughout various stages and due to the magnitude of the events, Mr. Brady facilitated interviews between Airbus staff and local, national, international and trade media for each of the events, and prepared original social media content. Media that Mr. Brady worked with on behalf of Airbus include The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Associated Press, FlightGlobal, The Press-Register (Mobile, AL), and many more. As part of the grand opening of the facility, Mr. Brady helped execute a Satellite Media Tour with the head of Airbus’s commercial aircraft division to promote the event.
As part of the proactive outreach of the numerous events involving the new Airbus facility, Mr. Brady ensured that Airbus representatives communicated about the positive impact the new facility would have. This entailed not only developing messaging that was geared toward a local impact, but also an international one as well. Messages that Mr. Brady helped Airbus communicate involved local job creation; local and national economic growth; Airbus having manufacturing hubs in the U.S., Europe and China, direct connection to American-based airlines like Delta, JetBlue, and Spirit; and, most importantly, Airbus aircraft could say “assembled in the U.S.”
Mr. Brady has also provided strategic and crisis communications expertise for the Rail Passengers Association and The Railway Supply Institute.
Before joining Xenophon in 2008, Mr. Brady worked at the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA), in Washington, D.C., where he was a writer beginning in September 2007. During that time, he drafted correspondence on behalf of TSA in response to questions and concerns raised by members of U.S. Congress, representatives of federal agencies and the general public on a range of issues including airport security and domestic and international air travel.
Previously, Mr. Brady completed internships with Solomon Friedman Advertising in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and Meridian Entertainment Group in Holt, Michigan. Mr. Brady received his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University with a double major in English and Advertising. He works remotely from Lancaster, PA. He has been with Xenophon for almost 12 years.
Senior Medical and Scientific Advisor
Dr. Barry P. Chaiken
Barry P. Chaiken, MD, MPH has over 25 years’ experience in healthcare information technology, patient safety, clinical transformation, and business intelligence. He previously worked with the National Institutes of Health, U.K’s. National Health Service, McKesson, BearingPoint, and Infor.
During his career Chaiken provided expertise in quality and patient safety to provider, payor, and life science organizations helping them utilize information technology to improve clinical and administrative activities. He has served as guest lecturer and consultant on topics including patient safety, clinician adoption of information technology, quality improvement, and healthcare analytics. Chaiken also assisted hospitals and technology firms in the creation of medical software products and services.
Chaiken is currently Clinical Lead at Tableau Healthcare where he offers his expertise in clinical transformation, quality improvement, and healthcare analytics. He is board certified in General Preventive Medicine and Public Health as well as Health Care Quality Management. Chaiken served as a Healthcare Advisory Board member to numerous organizations as head of DocsNetwork, his own boutique healthcare IT consulting company. He has delivered more than 60 CME lectures, and is currently on the editorial board of the journal of Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare. Chaiken writes a column on technology and quality for the journal Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare, and frequently contributes commentary to the online publication Health Data Management. He also served as Conference
Chair of the annual Digital Healthcare Conference and contributed to WTN Media’s online publications.
Chaiken received his medical degree from SUNY Downstate Medical Center, his masters in public health degree in health services administration from the Harvard School of Public Health, and his bachelors of arts degree in psychology from the University at Albany. He acquired his specialty training from the Centers for Disease Control as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer and from the New Jersey State Department of Health as a preventive medicine resident. Chaiken served as a Board member (2006-2010), Board Liaison to HIMSS Europe (2006-2009), and Board Chair (2009-2010), and continues his involvement as a Fellow of the Health Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS). As an Adjunct Professor at Boston University, Chaiken is a guest lecturer in both graduate and undergraduate level courses in healthcare information technology in its Questrom School of Management.
Coronavirus Resources
This Japanese experiment from NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster, shows how easily coronavirus can spread.
FAQ Sheets:
The following includes several Frequently Asked Questions regarding COVID-19 and how employers, staff and the general public can help slow or stop the spread of the virus.
Full FAQ Sheet
Top Line FAQ Sheet
Disinfectants FAQ Sheet
Children FAQ Sheet
Face Masks FAQ Sheet
Key Resources:
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
Johns Hopkins University
A good COVID-19 Dashboard produced by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
Unacast
An interactive social distancing scoreboard for the U.S., sortable by state.
Harvard T.H. Chan
The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University created the COVID-19 Path Forward website to provide a unified guidance and the latest information on various issues, as well as how to recover and move forward through the pandemic.
Prominent Health Organizations:
CDC
The CDC provides guidance to keep people safe with in-depth information, research and news on COVID-19 in the U.S.
CDC Self-Checker
The CDC’s Coronavirus Self-Checker is designed to help people make decisions about seeking appropriate medical care. The system is not intended for the diagnosis or treatment of disease or other conditions, including COVID-19.
World Health Organization
The WHO provides information and updates on COVID-19 for the global population.
Government / Other sites:
CoronaVirus.gov
Coronavirus.gov offers the latest official information from the COVID-19 Task Force at the White House.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on COVID-19 for the public.
Administration for Children and Families
ACF includes resources and information for ACF’s mission-related issues and programs affected by COVID-19.
Health and Human Services
The HHS is the lead federal agency for the COVID-19 pandemic response and provides up-to-date information on the response to the virus.
Customs and Border Protection
CBP is working closely with DHS and other federal, state, and local agencies to support the whole-of-government effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Administration for Community Living
ACL provides critical information for older adults and people with disabilities to combat COVID-19.
Federal Aviation Administration
The FAA is taking steps to help address the widespread economic and health effects of COVID-19 on the impact of coronavirus on aviation.
Maps:
Johns Hopkins University
COVID-19 global cases by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins.
World Health Organization
A comprehensive coronavirus outbreak map with data that details the latest information on a global scale.
The New York Times
A map by The New York Times shows the known locations of coronavirus cases by county within the United States.