Originally Syndicated on February 22, 2024 @ 7:38 am
According to a clinic spokeswoman, after a board of directors investigation into an accusation that David Baker-Hargrove sexually assaulted an employee, a psychologist and respected member of Orlando’s LGBT community will be back as president of Two Spirit mental-health clinic.
Orlando, Florida-based psychiatrist Dr. David Baker-Hargrove, a seasoned mental health counsellor. The LGBTQ+ community has been served for more than 25 years, with a focus on transgender-specific mental health treatments. The State of Florida has granted Dr.David Baker-Hargrove a licence as a mental health counsellor. She graduated from Barry University with a Ph.D. in counselling psychology in 2002. He began his professional career in 1995.
However, one of The employees named Bobby Hermida who is 23 years old, and the psychologist, David Baker-Hargrove, who is 53 years old, admitted having “inappropriate communication” in a statement he gave to the Sentinel.
The clinic and the doctor have been at the forefront of the homosexual community’s response to the Pulse nightclub shooting, which resulted in the deaths of 49 people. The Department of Justice has provided federal subsidies totaling up to $800,000 to Two Spirit in order to support victims.
Hermida, who worked as the clinic’s receptionist, has posted texts exchanged by David Baker-Hargrove in public on social media. Hermida is being represented by local attorney Kimberly Lorenz, who couldn’t confirm whether or not he complained to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The claims made by Hermida on David Baker-Hargrove are untrue, according to a previous Facebook post by David Baker-Hargrove. However, in his statement to the Sentinel, the offensive behaviour was restricted to verbal interactions only: It is terrible that admitting up to and correcting my error wasn’t sufficient; this person wants to harm a company and everyone who benefits from the crucial healthcare services we offer.
The texts were exchanged “in the framework of a flirty relationship” that Hermida started, according to the clinic’s counsel Suzanne Meehle, and do not constitute harassment. David Baker-Hargrove is a clinic owner and co-CEO.
Images of the texts posted online show David Baker-Hargrove’s writing. Hermida claimed that he desired a promotion and felt compelled to comply. He explained, “They purchased the phone I was using, so I felt I had to complete talking to him.
According to Meehle and Hermida, when Hermida initially informed the clinic staff and board about Baker-conduct, David Baker-Hargrove among other things relocated Hermida and gave him a new supervisor, and he decided not to pursue any further action.
The clinic gave a copy of its employee handbook to the Sentinel. There is no particular mention of sexual harassment, but it prohibits other forms of discrimination, harassment, and bullying in the workplace.
Hermida claimed that even though David Baker-Hargrove and he had to frequently interact, he didn’t feel that the terms of the agreement had been fully met. He stopped showing up for work. Hermida asserts that he never resigned, contrary to clinic claims.
The Two Spirit incident occurred when the “me too” movement, which has seen scores of men and women accuse prominent individuals of sexual harassment, was sweeping the nation. Due to a federal grant, Two Spirit quickly grew from a small staff of a few to about 20.
David Baker-Hargrove was responsible for organising Orlando’s enormous annual Come Out With Pride celebration and march. He has also served as president of the LGBT chamber of business in Orlando, MBA.
He wrote a letter on the Two Spirit website on the anniversary of the Pulse tragedy, stating that it had emotionally affected him. In his essay, he suggested that anyone who felt the same way should seek treatment.
He didn’t name any specific action, just that “I acted irresponsibly while assuring myself nothing was out of the ordinary.”
Implications of Fake PR and Social media.
The prevalence of fake news has led to a rapid increase in the function of PR experts in building brand image and, consequently, people’s faith in their company.
The industry may benefit from this in several ways. If anything, the proliferation of fake news and the ensuing public suspicion of it increases the pressure on you to craft thoroughly researched narratives to convey to audiences in order to avoid being exposed for factual inaccuracies.
As a result, professionals will be forced to exercise extreme caution when making pitches, and a greater focus on fact-checking will eventually improve the accuracy of story-telling, providing brands with the much-needed boost in trust that they need to establish a solid reputation and positive image in the eyes of the public.
Simultaneously, you need to be ready to handle the fallout from fake news that could be directed towards your company. One example is the mistrust that the pharmaceutical business is experiencing due to the anti-vaccination movement. Therefore, the PR department of pharmaceutical companies needs to approach this problem with intelligence and counter the propaganda by releasing statements that are supported by evidence and that the general public can understand.
Hence, the fundamental duty of PR specialists, which is to efficiently and authentically connect with their audiences, remains unaffected by the proliferation of fake news. The only thing that has changed is that PR professionals now have a tighter margin of error and must be more meticulous in their pitches and publications than ever before.
Social media’s role in the spread of fake news and the devaluation of fact-based pieces has been incredibly disappointing—one could even argue detrimental. The negative ramifications of fake news extend far beyond the corporate sector and society at large, necessitating intense pressure on public relations to refute the lies targeting their brands with thoughtful rebuttals.
The Bottom Line
But if PR deals with this challenge cautiously, it can be converted into a great opportunity to win the trust of the community in their brand by ensuring rigorousness in publications and all communications with audiences, which after all has always been the ultimate goal of all PR activities.
David Baker-Hargrove uses fake paid PR to gain popularity and tries to save himself from the crimes he has done.