Reaching out to the Spanish-speaking community

When UNMC addresses the public on COVID-19, featuring the now-familiar faces of Mark Rupp, MD, James Lawler, MD, and Angela Hewlett, MD, among others, the medical center works to speak with the same voice, no matter the language.

"We have a responsibility to inform the community," said Armando De Alba Rosales, MD, assistant professor of in the UNMC Department of Family Medicine.

That means the entire community.

"UNMC and Nebraska Medicine have informed our local communities in more than one language during this pandemic, and I am honored to assist with the Spanish communication," Dr, De Alba said. "For example, when one of our press conferences comes in English, I come in Spanish. I am glad to hear from community members that they perceive it this way; when we move forward, as the medical center, we want to take the same step in Spanish and English."

Dr. De Alba recently co-hosted, with Dr. Rupp, a Facebook Live informational session for the public.

Dr. De Alba has appeared on outlets such as the Spanish-language television station Telemundo.

Dr. De Alba also has participated in Spanish-language press conferences and informational sessions on COVID-19 and the pandemic hosted by the State of Nebraska and Douglas County. And, he appears on Nebraska Telemundo and Radio Lobo to serve as a resource.

"Questions fly in," he said. Dr. De Alba is often responding to the same questions his colleagues answer in English. "Advising parents on the return to class after an exposure or positive test, that was a hot topic."

Dr. De Alba is active on social media, taking part in Instagram Lives, Facebook Lives and Twitter conversations, to bring evidence-based information to the community.

He credits Sara Bares, MD, assistant professor of infectious diseases, as another pillar in UNMC’s efforts to provide medical expertise and information to the Hispanic community during the pandemic. Drs. Bares and De Alba co-founded the Nebraska chapter of the National Hispanic Medical Association.

UNMC medical students, as well as students from other colleges, and the UNMC College of Public Health, also have been leaders and collaborators in Hispanic pandemic outreach efforts. The medical center has led and contributed to town halls and vaccine clinics in the community.

And UNMC takes seriously its 500-mile campus, reaching out to Spanish-speaking clinicians and Hispanic communities throughout the state, Dr. De Alba said. These are connections that will last beyond the pandemic.

But the impact reaches beyond Nebraska. Like many of his UNMC colleagues, Dr. De Alba has become a nationwide resource during the pandemic.

He was inaugural keynote speaker in a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services campaign to overcome vaccine hesitancy among Hispanic Americans, Juntos Si Podemos.

He is sought as a medical expert by national media across the U.S., including Univision, Telemundo and NBC News.

Dr. De Alba, who also serves as assistant dean for diversity, equity and inclusion student programs in the UNMC College of Medicine, consults for the Embassy of Mexico in the U.S. and the Consulate of Mexico in Omaha on American COVID protocols.

Similarly, Spanish-language outreach is critical for Americans, as many receive media from other countries — which may be using different vaccines than we do, for example.

"The more languages we communicate, the more lives we will save," Dr. De Alba said. "However, our efforts of inclusion need to go beyond the language to ensure we also reach out to other underserved communities. Because to end this pandemic, we all need to be on board, all at the same time."