I always had a soft spot for what I call “health and wellness.” That written, when starting my career at Blanc & Otus (B&O), I was trained in business-to-business (B2B) corporate communications – truly deep tech such as application servers, databases, embedded systems and programming languages to business applications such as CRM, marketing solutions and the like. For BOCA to expand in the health and wellness arena, I realized I needed to bring in a health and wellness professional that would be 100-percent dedicated to that sector.
Today I’m proud to announce the addition of Karin Bauer, our newest vice president that has a 100-percent healthcare background. Karin has handled PR for big brands such as Roche Molecular Systems and established agencies within the health sector like MSL Group. During her career, Karin has worked closely with a broad range of companies within the overall healthcare umbrella – including biotech, health tech and pharmaceuticals. We are very excited she joined our team.
We are also happy to announce that we hired several new employees with deep health and wellness experience. Specifically, I would also like to call out Jim Barillo, our new senior director, working out of Austin, Texas.
More than ever, BOCA is armed and ready to work with new and established leaders in this exciting market.
To better learn about Karin, I personally interviewed her so she could tell her story and share why she joined the BOCA family.
Kathleen Shanahan
Founder, BOCA
 |
| Karin Bauer, Vice President, Client Service Healthcare |
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background in Healthcare PR?
I’ve worked in healthcare PR for more than 15 years because of the opportunity it offers to help people make better choices about how to live healthier lives, and because I love geeking out over new, breakthrough medical treatments, technologies and services that have the potential to improve healthcare for everyone.
If there is one constant in healthcare, it is that healthcare is constantly changing. This is as true now as it was back in the 90’s when I was doing medical research and discovered two drugs to treat cancer. As those discoveries progressed through clinical testing, new and better treatments for colon and breast cancer were introduced that prolonged countless lives and set new treatment standards.
Watching the healthcare landscape change then, as an in-house PR executive and as a PR agency VP, was no less significant or interesting than the rapid, groundbreaking changes we are all experiencing now due the advancement of health technology, the Affordable Care Act in the U.S. and similar influences on a global scale.
As medicine continues to migrate from being paper-based to tablet- and accessory-based and powered by the cloud, the “point-of-care moment” (the moment that a patient actually receives care from a health professional), will continue to evolve and rapidly change.
This is exciting, because we will get to see better technology, research and development solutions that can improve healthcare for us all. It’s gratifying to help people understand the value of these new developments so they can make better choices about improving their wellbeing and that of their families and friends.
What are your plans with BOCA and Healthcare PR?
BOCA’s strong cadre of clients, incredibly talented team and deeply ingrained ethical culture, make it the perfect communications partner for healthcare companies. Looking to advance awareness and appreciation for solutions that are making people’s lives better and healthier is at the root of this unique moment in time for us.
It’s also refreshing to be part of a company that lives its own values by encouraging healthy lifestyles among its employees. I love that our staff values healthcare highly enough to engage in friendly competition among one another to get on new healthcare accounts!
Have you worked in crisis communications with your past healthcare clients?
I’ve seen my fair share of crises and thankfully managed through them with positive outcomes. These included manufacturing plant chemical spills, fires, product recalls, layoffs and traditional and social media backlashes about new medical solutions. Those solutions required medical and consumer re-education to balance appreciation for how and when new healthcare technologies should be used.
Why did you come to BOCA?
I joined BOCA to work with its incredible team of people. Public Relations is a highly competitive industry. Everyone wants top mind and market share, and it’s our job to deliver that for our clients. With our closely-knit, intelligent and friendly team BOCA makes delivering those wins more meaningful and more fun.