The year’s end marks a milestone for The Floating Hospital, with the retirement of Vice President of Communications and Marketing Barbara LaPlaca. For many years, she has molded the organization’s branding, shaping the look and feel of every bit of communication regarding our mission and services, as well as our special events, website, videos, signage and related materials.
Cynthia Davis, director of community outreach, who is retiring herself at the end of next year, described LaPlaca as “magical. She is one of the chambers of our heart here. She puts passion into every single thing she does. Everything she did was flawless, and you never saw her sweat.” Yet, “she put thought and time into it, sleepless hours, to give us what we needed to succeed.”
“What’s always struck me about Barbara is her incredible empathy and compassion for the families we serve and the difficulties they face,” said Floating Hospital President Sean Granahan. “She has a unique way of capturing those struggles and making them aspirational for those who want to help. It’s always palpable in her work.” Her “remarkable skills with language and visuals to craft those messages is singular,” he added. “She’ll be truly missed.”
Director of Families in Temporary Housing Ivan Romero said “To meet the needs of our patients is not an easy task. Barbara, from her first day, has shown unique enthusiasm, dedication and humility in order to know our clients. She is always ready to visit our offsite clinics and to participate in any outreach activity on site.”
Julia Elliott, who has worked with LaPlaca on video projects with her company 590 Films for years, said LaPlaca had two main objectives for the annual gala video: to make the best video possible and not interfere with the activities of the clinic while it was being done. “We would always push her to let us shoot all sorts of crazy things and she always put the staff and the patients first. If she thought anything would interfere with what the staff was doing or upset the patients, she wouldn’t bat an eye about saying no.”
When LaPlaca gave her a lukewarm response to a rough cut, “my heart would sink a little.” But it pushed her to find stronger clips from the interviews and better footage. “It’s great to work with people who always challenge you like that.”
Joan C. Brancaccio, the chair of the Foundation Board, has worked with LaPlaca on many projects and said, “Barbara produces not just creative ideas, it’s creative output.” Plus, “she’s somebody I can always count on when I’m at a loss as to how to get something done, or where I go, or how to move forward.”
Where others might see just a brochure, “she sees a story, she sees text and visuals. I love when she explains how she sees things, because it’s really quite remarkable.”
Charlene Prounis, a Foundation Board member, sees LaPlaca as part of “the culture of The Floating Hospital.” When people from the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (a group Prounis brought in to support the Hospital) volunteer for events like Candy Cane Lane, “Barbara always goes and talks to them with spirit and enthusiasm. She tells them how meaningful their contribution is. She gets people excited with her energy and knowledge, and brings more people into the fold. They want to be involved.”
“Everyone is replaceable, that’s life. But sometimes it’s more painful than others,” Prounis noted.
“She’s just always there every time something needs to be done. Every time something is important, there’s Barbara,” Brancaccio said. “She’s in the middle of everything with a vision. I love people who lead. Barbara is a leader.”
