Montgomery County’s ‘Por Nuestra Salud y Bienestar’s’ Communications Efforts Recognized as Outstanding Public Service Announcement Campaigns during the 64th Emmy Awards Ceremony

Por Nuestra Salud y Bienestar initiative was created under the leadership of Montgomery County council members Nancy Navarro and Gabriel Albornoz and County Executive Marc Elrich.  The initiative focuses on curbing COVID-19 infections and lessening the impact of the virus among the Latino community, which has been among the hardest hit communities in the area. Por Nuestra Salud y Bienestar is led by Montgomery County’s Latino Health Initiative in partnership with seven community-based organizations: Care For Your Health, CASA, Identity, Inc., Mary’s Center, Mansfield Kaseman Health Clinic, Proyecto Salud Clinic, and the Up County Hub. It aims to provide comprehensive and multidisciplinary resources and services in Spanish for the Latino community of Montgomery County to help them address and cope with the impact caused by the pandemic and promote COVID-19 testing and vaccination, among other services.

The two award-winning PSA’s (PSA 1 and PSA 2) were produced by Communications Shop, Por Nuestra Salud y Bienestar’s communications and media firm, and featured the animated characters ‘La Abuelina’ and her family members, as the spokespersons for the campaign. The creation of ‘La Abuelina’ was a collaborative process rooted in the realities, input, and direct feedback from the local Latino community. The PSAs speak directly to the Latino community, delivering timely, accurate, and culturally competent Spanish-language COVID-19 messages. They have been featured on diverse social and digital media and traditional communications platforms, to encourage Latinos to take charge of their health and make well-informed decisions in response to COVID-19.

“Our creative and culturally competent outreach campaign featuring ‘La Abuelina’ has led to us leading the nation in high vaccination rates and lower hospitalization rates within our Latino communities,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “I want to congratulate Communications Shop and our Latino Health Initiative for their successful outreach and communication efforts for our Spanish language residents. This is the second year ‘La Abuelina’ has won an Emmy and has now earned a total of three Emmy awards. We will continue using this award-winning campaign to educate and encourage our Latino families to be safe and healthy from COVID.”

“The success of the Por Nuestra Salud y Bienestar initiative and the ‘La Abuelina’ PSA campaign is clearly evident by the number of Latino community members that have been motivated and mobilized to get tested and vaccinated; one of the most successful Latino-focused efforts in the Country,” said Sonia Mora, Assistant Chief Administrative Officer for Montgomery County, who previously served as the Senior Manager of the Latino Health Initiative. “The campaign was created with our Spanish-speaking community members in mind, providing resources and answers to our community in these challenging times. Our gratitude goes to the invaluable collaboration of our non-profit community partners, County agencies and Communications Shop. These Emmys recognize our commitment to the public and our shared mission to protect their health and wellbeing.”

The prestigious Emmy awards are the most valuable recognition from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) of content and performance excellence in the television industry.  The Por Nuestra Salud y Bienestar nominations for a single and campaign series of public service announcements, placed it in direct competition among the best video work in its category in the Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia region.

The 2023 National Capital Emmys, hosted by the Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, were held at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center on Saturday, June 25.