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Health department uses $50,000 NACCHO grant to launch WhatsApp channel, TextMyGov outreach in Spanish
Summary
Summit County Health Department received a $50,000 grant from NACCHO and the Omni Institute to improve communications with rural and Spanish-speaking populations; initiatives include a Spanish-language WhatsApp channel, direct mail to eastern county residents, transit ads and TextMyGov two-way text service.
Derek Moss, the department staff member who led the grant work, told the board the department received a $50,000 grant from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and the Omni Institute to strengthen communication to rural and racial/ethnic minority communities.
Moss said the grant supported a Spanish-language WhatsApp channel, targeted direct mail to eastern Summit County, paid ads on local transit and billboards, and the county’s new TextMyGov two-way text service. He said the WhatsApp channel allows two-way communications without requiring residents to register personal information with a government website and that the department believes WhatsApp is a preferred channel for Spanish-speaking seasonal and service-industry workers.
Moss provided metrics from the outreach: the department reported more than 200,000 paid social-media impressions, a direct-mail distribution to about 7,700 households on the east side of the county, access to a TextMyGov database of roughly 9,800 geo-targetable phone numbers, and more than 270 WhatsApp sign-ups launched late in the campaign. Moss compared the WhatsApp uptake to a prior Spanish-language text notification list that took two years to reach roughly the same enrollment level.
Other work funded by the grant included bus-wrap ads with High Valley Transit and Park City Transit, updates to English and Spanish service pamphlets, marketing support for community events (seasonal workforce events, health fairs), and two Spanish-language medical interpreter courses.
Moss said the county will continue to expand and promote the WhatsApp channel and TextMyGov service, use geofenced messaging for local events or clinics, and maintain careful use of emergency alerts so residents are not over-notified.
