Oregon’s Outreach Strategies
Reaching Communities of Color
Oliver J. Vera, MBA
Community Partner and Outreach Program Manager
Oregon Health Authority
January 19, 2015
We will cover
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The Program
Materials in Spanish
Promotion and Marketing
Immigration Law – Public Charge and Eligibility Based
on Citizenship Status
• The System Does Not Meet the Need
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The Program
Our Mission:
“Train and empower diverse Community Partners to help
Oregonians of all backgrounds to access public and private
health coverage”
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Our Team
Oregon Health Authority
• 8 Regional Outreach Coordinators, 1 Provider Campaign
Coordinator, 1 Community Engagement Coordinator
Assistors and Network of Community Partners
• Over 230 contracted partner organizations statewide
– Network of over 730 certified Application Assistors
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Understanding our Community Partners
Organizations include:
• Health care providers (clinics, hospitals, medical groups)
• Community-based nonprofit programs
• Public health departments
• School districts & educational programs
• County jails
• Statewide organizations
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Looking further for Partners
• Mexican and Guatemalan Consulates
– Consulado Movil, Bi-National Health Week, Secretaria de Salud
de Mexico(Secretariat of Health of Mexico)
• Minority Business Associations
– Somali American Council of Oregon
• Small Businesses
– Panaderias, tienditas, fabric stores
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Regional Collaborative Meetings
• What:
• County-level meetings
• Regional Outreach Coordinators share system and policy
updates, foster networking and collaboration and troubleshoot
issues
• When: Monthly
• Where: Each of Oregon’s 36 counties (26 locations)
• Who: Community Partners, Agents, DHS, and other
stakeholders
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Population-Specific Collaboratives
Requested by partners
Networking opportunity
Ability to discuss what is working and explore challenges
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Latino Collaborative (webinar, statewide)
Inmate Transition Collaborative (webinar; statewide)
LGBTQ Collaborative (webinar; statewide)
Tribal Collaborative (webinar, statewide)
Understanding Our Communities
• Identify official leaders, community leaders, and
unofficial leaders
• Never assume anything
• Get involved - Become part of the community
• Start and guide the conversation
• If you don’t know, ask! It will prevent misunderstandings
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Understanding Our Communities
• Always follow up
• Be open, empathetic, respectful, mindful, sincere,
genuine, flexible, etc.
• Share your own culture or experience
• Allow time for change to take place
• Listen, listen, and listen
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Promotion and Marketing – Take Risks
• Soccer Tournament
– Over 10,000 in attendance over a 3 day period. 6,500 unique
contacts
• Create value and sell it
– Earned media
– Media Firm
• Treat it like a business
– Make it personal
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Latino Campaign
• Market Saturation
• Lara Media Services
– Latino owned – Founded by Victoria Lara in 2000. Register as a
double minority owner and disadvantage business
– The most prestigious, awarded, and recognized Latino Media Firm
in the Northwest
• Access to television, radio, newspapers, and social
media; all based on our relationship and trust
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Latino Campaign - Television
• Univision (several occasions throughout the year)
• Reach out to 400,000 households
• Local community TV station
• Reach out to ~10,000 households
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Latino Campaign - Radio
• Radio Spots - several interviews or informational segments yearly
– La Gran D 610 AM (Southern Oregon)
– La Campeona 880 AM
– La Pantera 940 AM
– La Bronca 1240 AM (Central Oregon)
– La Gran D 1520 AM
– El Rey 93.1 FM
– La Zeta 94.3
– Radio Movimiento 95.9 FM (Targets farmworkers)
Audience 30,000-120,000
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Creating Materials
• Translate all materials - including websites
– Linguistically and culturally appropriate – not Google translate etc.
• No need to translate
– Ensure materials are culturally appropriate
– Meet specific population’s needs
• Produce relevant materials to address needs/concerns
• Establish a translating and/or reviewing process
– Involve community partners, stakeholders, and clients in reviewing
process and listen to their feedback. It builds trust.
– It is highly recommended for reviewers to be fluent or native speakers
• Maximize resources and your opportunity
– Produce bilingual materials (English – any other language)
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Latino Campaign
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African American Campaign
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Tribal Campaign
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Asian American Campaign
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LGBTQ
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Immigration Law – Public Charge
• Public Charge
…IS A TERM USED by U.S. immigration officials to refer to a person
who is considered primarily dependent on the government for
subsistence, as demonstrated by either receipt of public cash assistance
for income maintenance or institutionalization for long-term care at
government expense. Where this consideration applies, an immigrant
who is found to be "likely . . . to become a public charge" may be denied
admission to the U.S. or lawful permanent resident status.
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Immigration Law – Eligibility based on
citizenship status
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Immigration Law – Eligibility based on
citizenship status
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Immigration Law – Eligibility based on
citizenship status
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The System Does Not Meet
the Community Need
• All Oregonians can apply and access for Health Care
– Not true. Not all Oregonians can apply and access Health Care
• No Google translator or similar tools
• Challenges with HealthCare.gov and
CuidadodeSalud.gov
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I.D. Proofing (limited or not credit history)
Mixed status families
Unaccompanied Youth
New immigrants
The System Does Not Meet
the Community Need
• Directed assistors
and applicants to
OregonHealthCare.
gov
– To complete the
fillable PDF
– Paper application
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The Impact of Our Program
• Our community partners were successful in reaching out
to hard to reach populations
• Our program was exceptionally successful in reaching
out to the Latino community and other minorities
• Brought the Oregon uninsured rate down to 5%
• Community organizations built trust in the community
• Served the often overlooked populations
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The Bottom Line
“We are committed to our Community Partners and clients.
Our outreach strategies build coalitions, establish trust, and
empower communities. As a result we develop a stronger
and healthier Oregon.”
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Contact Information
Oliver J. Vera, MBA
Manager Community Partner
and Outreach Program
Office of Client and Community Services
Medical Assistance Programs
Oregon Health Authority
oliver.vera@state.or.us
503.269.0526
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