Martin Plascencia To Head Spanish-Language Outreach For County

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Orange County CEO Communications Department has hired Martin Plascencia to lead its Spanish-language communications and outreach efforts that have thus far flailed in reaching a broad part of our community. On Wednesday, the OC Health Care Agency announced the Othena website is now available in Spanish, with other languages to follow.

For the past month, Plascencia has worked with the county to set a plan for outreach into the Latino community of Orange County. His first goal is to translate the problematic Othena registration app into Spanish to be read and understood.

Getting the word out to Orange County's non-English speaking residents on coronavirus vaccinations, testing, public health, and safety has complicated the coronavirus vaccination rollout. Though vaccines are being administered at hospitals, some pharmacies, and at the super Point of Dispensing sites at Disneyland and Soka University, there is a disparity between those who have not yet received their shots.

Plascencia's primary focus is all things coronavirus. He tells Patch. Now that the Othena App and website are translated, and Spanish speakers are available to answer questions, he says huge improvement.

"Where we are providing our service in Spanish speaking communities, the numbers are low," Plascencia said. "Some say it's because they don't want to get the vaccine. What I think, the people in the Latino community want to be vaccinated The main barrier for the Latino community."

That language barrier is vast in Orange County and has plagued the board of supervisors since the pandemic began.

In Orange County, 46 percent of residents speak languages other than English at home, according to a 2019-20 OC Community Indicator's Report. According to Data USA in a 2018 report, 743,568 are Spanish speakers, 193,206 speak Vietnamese, and 88,191 are Mandarin or Cantonese speakers.

Now that the vaccination app is available in Spanish, signing up comes with step by step instructions in a site that is being improved almost daily to meet the users' needs.

Anyone who registers needs to use a separate email, one not work-related, where emails would spam. There is only a four-hour window for registration once an appointment slot is given.

Once registered and in the 'waiting room," like all new Othena registrants, they will have to wait.

Waiting is the hardest part, Plascencia agrees. But being registered for vaccines is a huge hurdle for Orange County Latinos.

Orange County Supervisors Andrew Do and Doug Chaffee of the 1st and 4th district have each made a push to increase language access to valuable tools, such as the Othena Vaccination scheduling app, and call centers, and health and safety social media campaigns amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Supervisor Chaffee, Martin will break down the language barrier. "He will allow us to communicate COVID-19 related information and resources to our Spanish-speaking communities, particularly in the Cities of Anaheim and Santa Ana where Latino residents have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19," Chaffee said.

Do also spoke on Martin's Latino outreach efforts.

“The pandemic has only deepened language access issues,” said Chairman Do, who authored the County’s Language Access Policy last April. “Now more than ever, we must reach every community and neighborhood in Orange County.”

Martin Plascencia worked as a news reporter for Telemundo Channel 52-Los Angeles for 20 years. While in that role, he oversaw the Orange County News Bureau for 15 years. Although his career has allowed him to report on landmark events for more than 35 years, most of his career has been reporting the daily stories of Latinos living in California.

In 1987, Plascencia joined the radio industry as a breaking news reporter for Radio KALI-AM, the only Spanish language radio station with field reporters in Southern California. At the same time, he was a correspondent for “Enfoque,” a PBS weekly Spanish language news radio magazine.

Plascencia attended Preparatoria No. 2 of the Universidad de Guadalajara. He continued his education in the United States, where he graduated from East Los Angeles College in Social Science and Journalism. He attended Cal State University Los Angeles, where he studied Sociology for a year and a half. He has been invited and has participated in several occasions as a Professor for the Extension Program of Spanish Language Journalism at UCLA.

“As a reporter, I deeply enjoyed covering the most up-to-date news stories for our Spanish-speaking communities,” said Martin Plascencia. “Now, I have the opportunity to do the same, but from another lens. It’s important for the Latino community to get the most accurate information when it comes to resources, programs, and all COVID-19 related information. It’s an honor to be part of this effort.”

Let us know how your vaccination registration is going in the comments or by emailing your Patch Editor.