Maximus Launches Public Health Unit, Appoints Executive Leadership; Bruce Caswell, Andrew Sommers Quoted

Maximus has launched Maximus Public Health (MPH) to provide resources to help remediate COVID-19 and other public health threats for government agencies. To support the new division, Maximus has added five additional public health professionals to establish the MPH mission and structure. 

MPH will collaborate with academic partners, conduct research and expand partnerships with public health agencies, healthcare providers, data analytics platforms and industry partners to serve as a resource to the government in developing their public health strategies. 

“Maximus Public Health enables the Company to support the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based services needed for pandemic preparedness and control,” said Bruce Caswell, CEO of Maximus and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient. “The MPH team will ensure that our clients benefit from the latest applied research and tools to address COVID-19 and other public health threats.”

Dr. Andrew Sommers, expert in the prevention and control of infectious diseases that can cause epidemics and pandemics like COVID-19, joined Maximus from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in May 2020. 

With HHS, Sommers was a senior policy advisor in the Office of Health Policy, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). In this role, he managed a portfolio covering epidemiologic investigations into infectious diseases like hepatitis, Zika and Ebola.

Corinna Dan, RN, MPH, senior director and public health nurse, has joined Maximus from HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), where she served as a senior policy advisor in the Office of Infectious Disease Policy. 

Amber Cox, PhD, CCRC, MPH, director and epidemiologist, previously served at Merck, where she served as a senior research policy associate focusing on public policy for global vaccines. Karin Hoelzer, DVM, PhD, director with Maximus, joined the company from the Pew Charitable Trusts, where she served as a senior officer for health programs.

Samuel Washington, MPH, CPHIMS, will serve as director. He previously worked with Laulima Government Solutions, where he served as senior disease epidemiologist/biodefense regulatory biostatistician and worked at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Disease (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick. 

Jonnell Sanciangco, MSc, GISP, Geographic Information System (GIS) Analyst, has over 14 years of experience implementing geospatial methodologies and techniques for applications to public health projects on natural resources, environmental, conservation and community development.

"Maximus provides expertise to support HHS, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), and numerous states with their responses to COVID-19. Maximus Public Health’s mission is to promote public health and to help governments respond to emerging infectious diseases, weather-related catastrophes, and other public health threats," Sommers said.

About Maximus

Since 1975, Maximus has operated under its founding mission of Helping Government Serve the People®, enabling citizens worldwide to successfully engage with their governments at all levels and across various health and human services programs. 

Maximus delivers innovative business process management and technology solutions that contribute to improved outcomes for citizens and higher levels of productivity, accuracy, accountability and efficiency of government-sponsored programs. With more than 30,000 employees worldwide, Maximus is a proud partner to government agencies in the United States, Australia, Canada, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.