Kathy Barbour, 2015 PR Society chair, has taken a non-healthcare post after 16 years at Baptist Health South Florida, Mayo Clinic, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida. New Employer Acosta helps in the marketing of consumer packaged goods to retail outlets.

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It's no mystery to us why Barbour jumped the track from a solid background in healthcare to a jobber of packaged goods.

We had pointed out to her employers at Baptist Health that the behavior of the PR Society to this writer and others was inconsistent with the values of the hospital system.

We noted that the Society from 1978 to 1994 sold hundreds of thousands of copies of authors' articles without their permission and refused to deal with them when caught red-handed.

The officers and board members of Baptist Health were told about the Society's illegal boycott of the O'Dwyer Co. which includes blocking it from exhibiting its six product at its national conferences and not allowing any O'Dwyer staffers as members although hundreds of writers and reporters are members.

Baptist Health officers and directors did not respond to us but we notice that soon as Jan. 1, 2015 rolled around Barbour was no longer with the hospital system.

Case Being Made to Acosta CEO

We are now taking our case to Robert E. Hill Jr., president and CEO of Acosta, who is chair of Baptist Health System, Jacksonville, a separate hospital system from Baptist Health South Florida.

Hill has an extensive record of community service. Baptist Health System includes six Northeast Florida hospitals. He is also on the boards of Baptist Medical Center Downtown, Jacksonville University, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, Community Foundation Board and is chair of the Furman University board. He is a graduate of Furman.

Barbour was corporate director of PR and marketing, Baptist Health South Florida, from October 2012 to March 2015. She was PA manager, Mayo Clinic, South Florida, from 2007-2012, and with Blue Shield/Blue Cross of Florida (now Florida Blue) from 1998-2007.

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Acosta, based in Jacksonville, provides a "syndicated retail model which leverages one sales force across multiple brands at a given retailer. Acosta's team is dedicated by retailer (not company), and utilizes resources in any given retail location across all brands the Company represents."

The privately-held company says its 17,000 retail associates are in stores daily, allowing it to deliver faster shelf placement of new items, correct out-of-stock products quicker, and gain greater distribution of existing products.

Roymi Membiela, is VP-marketing and PR, Baptist Health South Florida.

A 17-year veteran of the Miami Herald who helped the development of its Spanish language version, El Nuevo Herald, she joined Baptist Health in 2011.

2014 Chair Took New Post

Also taking a new job during his term as chair of the Society was 2014 chair Joseph Cohen. He had been at MWW Group since graduation from college in 1999--a 15 year run.

Cohen, group VP of consumer lifestyle marketing at MWW, joined Kind Healthy Snacks, New York, in September 2014.

Kind snack bars, according to Wikipedia, deliver between 180-210 calories and include "healthy fats" and protein. Its Healthy Grains bars deliver 140-150 calories and have at least 18 grams of whole gains per bar. Strong & Kind bars deliver 230 calories each with 10 grams of protein. A Milky Way candy bar has 170 calories and a 5th Avenue, 260. Those candies are made by other companies.

"Oral Health on NBC News" warns in a headline that "Gooey nutrition bars fuel energy--and cavities." Dentists say the "sticky bars" let bacteria stay longer on the teeth, causing decay. The bars are often consumed during sports, while walking or driving a car or in other situations where water for rinsing out the mouth is not readily available, they note. Bacteria use the sticky ingredients to make acid that softens enamel, they add.

Prices for Kind bars vary from $1 to as much as $3.50, New York Times reporter Emily Reuben found in an extensive survey Aug. 9, 2013. She described a Kind bar as "a gooey slab of dried fruits and nuts, sometimes drizzled with chocolate." She visited numerous locations and found the price was higher at places connected with travel.

Kind bars, says the company, are gluten-free, non-genetically organism modified and low in sodium. Currently the Kind Healthy Grains and Kind Healthy Grains Clusters are certified by the NON-GMO Project; all other products are currently in the process of becoming NON-GMO Project Verified.