Washington, D.C., August 9, 2021 – JPA Health, a full-service, wholly integrated health communications firm, announced today the addition of Christina Zurla to the Washington, D.C. office as a senior vice president (SVP). Recently named PR Week’s 40 under 40, Zurla brings nearly 20 years of experience leading federal health communications and media campaigns addressing some of our nation’s most critical issues, such as the opioid overdose epidemic, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, and suicide, among others. 

In her role at JPA, Zurla will build upon the agency’s recent approval as a GSA Schedule contractor to help grow its federal health communications work, including overseeing strategic partnerships and teaming opportunities to support federal health contracts.

“Christina has a proven track-record developing award-winning communications and behavior change campaigns while managing the complexities of federal government contracts,” said Carrie Jones, principal of JPA Health. “We are excited to expand our footprint in the federal health space and are delighted to have Christina dedicated to this worthy effort.”

Prior to joining JPA, Zurla worked at globally recognized firms such as Porter Novelli, Gallup, ICF, and the Pew Charitable Trusts, among others. Her portfolio includes developing the Emmy-award winning “Rx Awareness” campaign for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as the Congressionally-mandated “Talk. They Hear You.” underage drinking prevention national media campaign for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. A longtime Washingtonian, Zurla lives with her family on Capitol Hill. 

About JPA Health

JPA Health is an award-winning independent, full-service agency established in 2007. With three offices in the U.S. and UK, our staff of more than 80 employees specializes in marketing, public relations and advocacy services. We are a leader in designing health campaigns that drive change and deliver measurable results. At JPA, we share our clients’ commitment to making people healthier and this ideology inspires our work. Our exclusive focus on health means that we can offer our clients the experience and perspective to deliver results. Learn more at jpa.com.

By Karen Goldstein, Senior Vice President, Public Health

 

The media headlines about mental health have been widespread in recent weeks. And it doesn’t matter how old you are, where you live, your race or ethnicity or even your profession. It’s clear we are all experiencing a toll on our mental wellbeing.

For those of us who work in public health communications and navigate living with our own mental health conditions (I’m looking at you, Melissa’s anxiety and depression!), we have found our moment to shine and help others by sharing our experiences, emphasizing it’s okay to feel your feelings and reinforcing the power of getting mental health support. Effective storytelling, coupled with accessible resources to support action, is one of the most powerful ways communicators can help inspire others to feel they can avoid a negative consequence, expect a positive outcome and believe they can be successful in taking action.

This Mental Health Action Day, Thursday, May 20, join my JPA Health colleagues as we take action to support our mental health.

Here are four ideas, we hope you’ll select at least one:

1. CHECK IN WITH YOURSELF

 

Mental health is part of overall health, and just as there are actions we do to take care of our physical health, we need to do the same for our mental health. Do what feels right to you, whether that is journaling, meditation or connecting with a friend or family member. Check out Mental Health is Health for an easy, simple way to identify how you are doing and what can help improve your emotional health.

2. JOIN A SUPPORT GROUP

By Karen Goldstein, Senior Vice President, Public Health

This year’s National Public Health Week sparked robust, thoughtful conversations about the current state—and future—of public health. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been a harsh reminder about why public health matters (and why more investment is needed), it also has put a spotlight on the stark health inequities in underserved communities that have long been engrained in our health care system. These conversations matter, and this crisis may be creating a moment that moves us from complacency to action. We are excited about joining the discussion about what we can do next, together, to build the healthiest nation.

At JPA Health, we believe in the power of evidence-based, audience-centric and culturally appropriate communications to improve population health and promote health equity. Our Public Health Practice supports government agencies and organizations seeking to prevent disease, reduce health disparities, and improve the health and wellbeing of all people and communities. Since our founding, we have partnered with a spectrum of stakeholders to advance this mission through public health education, health care professional support, and community engagement. Many of us have worked for decades either alongside or within these organizations on critical public health issues, such as the social determinants of health (SDOH), chronic disease prevention, or the importance of vaccinations, and we are committed to continue supporting these efforts across our growing roster of clients.

If you haven’t worked with us yet, we invite you to learn more. Since we all love listicles, here’s my latest with the top reasons to work with JPA Health on public health communications:

1. Our team comes to work every day because of a genuine dedication to improving the public’s health, which includes a significant expertise and interest in both public health and health equity efforts. Plus, our agency focuses solely on health, meaning we can build on our breadth of experience and audience data to inform program development and outreach to support each client’s needs.
2. We were recently awarded a contract on the GSA Schedule for public relations, marketing and advertising. We are ready to grow our relationship with federal agencies on health communication efforts to share evidence-based information and drive behavior change. And, as a woman-owned small business, we are eager to partner with other agencies to join forces and support these important efforts.
3. JPA Health’s experience working with government agencies spans a decade, including current projects with NIH’s All of Us Research Program, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. In addition, many members of our team have worked within HHS, CMS, and the White House, while others have created and implemented varied communication initiatives on behalf of NIH, CDC, SAMHSA, HRSA, and others.
4. We also have long-standing relationships with nonprofit organizations, associations, and foundations, working to support public health communications as well as corporate communications needs. From public education campaigns on diabetes, thought leadership on access to birth control, or efforts to increase access to care for people with chronic kidney disease—which disproportionately impacts underserved communities of color, we collaborate with organizations large and small to create strategic, tailored communications initiatives. Further, with support from our International team, we’ve led a number of award-winning public health campaigns with global reach. View examples of our work.
5. Our approach to research stands out from the crowd. Our powerful research platform, GRETEL^®, helps us better understand audiences, create customized communications strategies and measure our impact by identifying the most influential voices for an audience or topic. GRETEL^® offers a large collection of real-world data on how to reach healthcare influencers, and it is dynamic – it continues to build and provide even greater value each time we use it.
6. We are a full-service, integrated agency. Our team of PR, marketing, and creative experts work together seamlessly—from traditional media outreach to paid advertising to the latest in digital influence. Plus, we leverage our deep industry experience—including understanding of the science and how to translate it into actionable messaging—to apply best practices in healthcare marketing to the public and nonprofit sector.
7. We know how and where to reach health professionals with evidence-based information and patient education resources, thanks to our in-house research team and from years of working with professional associations.
8. Last, but not least, we make a good partner. Many of our clients consider us part of their internal communications teams, and our client satisfaction scores remain high year after year. We are an independent agency that provides hands-on support to those who share our passion to helping others and contributing to the greater good.

Our team is passionate about and dedicated to public health communications, and we’re always looking for opportunities to continue this good work. If you’d like to learn more about JPA Health, get in touch with me at kgoldstein@jpa.com.  Let’s talk about how we can work together!

Woman-owned small business now published in General Services Administration Schedule 

May 6, 2021 - WASHINGTON—JPA Health, a full-service agency specializing in public relations, marketing and advocacy, announced today that the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has approved the agency as a GSA Schedule contractor (contract number: 47QRAA21D0042). As a woman-owned small business, JPA Health is poised to support government health initiatives with strategic, integrated and effective communications.

“Public health – and the critical role of tailored health communications to improve population health outcomes – is currently front and center with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Karen Goldstein, MPH, senior vice president at JPA Health. “Our experienced team brings a passion for preventing disease, reducing disparities, and improving people’s health along with a proven ability to apply best practices in communications and healthcare marketing.”  

Through GSA Advantage!, the GSA schedule will give U.S. government agencies direct and fast access to JPA Health’s communication services. The completion of the GSA schedule is the latest accomplishment for JPA Health, highlighting the team’s dedication to providing strategic health communications to a wide range of stakeholders.

“We are pleased to be awarded a five-year multiple award schedule and look forward to continue sharing our expertise in public health communications with federal government clients,” said Carrie Jones, principal of JPA Health. “We’ve had a relationship with the federal government for a decade and are thrilled for the opportunity to expand our current portfolio.

The GSA process identifies companies that meet the government’s rigorous standards and establishes long-term, government-wide contracts, placing the potential vendors on its GSA Schedule. Most departments and agencies of the federal government prefer to select services that have been vetted and secured through the GSA Schedule. Learn more about JPA’s Government Service

About JPA Health  

JPA Health is an independent, full-service agency. Our exclusive focus on health means that our life science, nonprofit and federal clients can count on a team with experience and perspective to deliver results. At JPA, we share our clients’ commitment to improving and protecting lives. This ideology inspires our work. It pushes us to combine data and heart to go deeper and see beyond the obvious. We invite you to learn more by contacting one of our offices: Washington, DC, Boston, and London. 

About GSA 

GSA provides centralized procurement for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of more than 370 million rentable square feet and overseeing approximately $68 billion in annual contracts. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services across government, in support of the Biden-Harris administration’s priorities. For more information, visit: www.gsa.gov and follow us at @USGSA.

Washington, DC, March 18, 2021 – JPA Health, a full-service agency specializing in public relations, marketing and advocacy, won the 2021 Outstanding Small Agency Award at PRWeek’s Annual Ceremony. This recognition comes after a record-breaking year of growth for the agency.  

“As we faced the early stages of a global pandemic, JPA Health was swift to adapt a new model focused on collaboration, creativity and client focus,” said  Carrie Jones, JPA Health’s Principal. “I’m incredibly proud of the JPA team, who rose above this time of uncertainty to deliver some of the agency’s best work. Our firm is honored to be included in such an esteemed group of agencies.” 

Now celebrating its 22nd year, the PRWeek Awards are viewed as one of the industry’s highest honors given annually and specifically honors one small agency a year that has achieved noteworthy success over the past 12 months.  

Currently in its 15th year, JPA Health has recently received recognition as PR News’ Inaugural Agency Elite Top 100, PR World’s Full Service Agency of the Year, listed as MM&M Top Agency, in addition to the more than 100 award-winning campaigns on behalf of its clients.  

This year’s accomplishment of being named the 2021 Outstanding Small Agency by PRWeek marks a momentous occasion in the agency’s dedication to its clients and team members. 

About JPA Health 

JPA Health is an independent, full-service agency. Our exclusive focus on health means that our life science, nonprofit and federal clients can count on a team with experience and perspective to deliver results. At JPA, we share our clients’ commitment to improving and protecting lives. This ideology inspires our work. It pushes us to combine data and heart to go deeper and see beyond the obvious. We invite you to learn more by contacting one of our offices: Washington, DC, Boston, and London.  

By Karen Goldstein, Senior Vice President, Public Health

Full disclosure: I am an optimist. I’m always looking for that silver lining and the bright side of a situation. Throughout the emotional turmoil and frustrations of the last year, I have forced myself to believe in brighter, kinder, healthier days ahead. I’ll be honest, though – it hasn’t been easy to watch events unfold, particularly from a public health perspective, and believe my own inner dialogue.

And yet, at the APHA virtual meeting this past year, speaking to thousands of public health practitioners, keynote speaker Bryan Stevenson said something that really resonated with me: “Hope is your superpower.” The public health community is charged with taking a population-level approach to tackling our biggest health challenges and coming up with solutions, on a global scale but also community by community. With long-term underfunding and political polarization creating unprecedented challenges, the individuals working so diligently to protect the public’s health keep forging ahead to do what’s needed to help others.

At this moment, I am starting to feel hopeful again. Here’s why:

There’s a vaccine for COVID-19 – and even more than one! Watching our frontline healthcare workers and senior population receive their vaccinations has been amazing, and more of an emotional salve than I had expected. There is still so much to be done to ensure widespread and equitable uptake, but the fact that we have effective vaccines within a year of the first known cases deserves its moment of recognition and awe.

In addition to a “wartime” strategy presented by the new Biden administration, I was heartened to see the first statement from new CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, which reaffirms CDC’s commitment to update COVID-19 guidance using the latest evidence so that people can make informed decisions. Working with the CDC on public health education campaigns over the past two decades, I have found their employees to be dedicated public servants who rigorously support evidence-based programs and messaging. It’s reassuring to see them step back into their own shoes.

The collaborative, cross-sector approach to vaccine promotion by the COVID Collaborative and Ad Council to encourage vaccine uptake by health care providers and the general public alike is incredible. They recently shared their research, messaging guidance and initial health care practitioner resources (including these videos with Dr. Fauci), with more campaign materials to come in the next few months (and major brands lending support). The crux of their approach is a focus on understanding people’s concerns about vaccination, with additional emphasis on the messenger being as important as the message. (Here’s a great example by Dr. Eugenia South, a Black doctor who shared her story about questioning the vaccine but ultimately deciding to take it.)

And while not related to COVID-19, I was also interested to see that the Communications Network, as part of their Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Project, recently released a report called Race and Racism: Doing Good Better that provides a starting point to understanding how communicators are bringing the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion into social good communications work. The report takes an honest look at where we are falling short in these efforts, and provides clear, practical and actionable advice for communicators to promote and advance equity communications.

It hasn’t always been easy to be an optimist, especially this past year. And yes, I know we have a long way to go. But I am hopeful that we can be more effective working in partnership, with science and evidence driving our efforts. I am still hopeful we can figure out a way to communicate about COVID-19 preventive measures without stigma, racism or politics (case in point, always an optimist).

At JPA Health, we believe in the power of health communication to improve people’s lives. We are eager and ready to support HHS, nonprofit and private sector efforts to promote evidence-based guidance and support informed decision making for our employees, networks, families and communities. To learn more about our work, or if you’re an optimist looking to network with likeminded people, please feel free to contact me at kgoldstein@jpa.com.