Central Health Launches Spanish-Language Website In Travis County

AUSTIN, TX — Central Health has launched a bilingual website toward the aim of widening its reach in providing low-income residents access to health care in Travis County, officials said on Monday.

Central Health, working with marketing consultants Belmont Icehouse and web developer/user experience (UX) specialists Standard Beagle Studios, began work by testing the previous website with the people the healthcare district serves, including representatives of underserved populations who often lack insurance, officials explained in an advisory.

The result is CentralHealth.net, described as culmination of months of research and design.

Development began after officials determined the most significant problems users experienced with a previous iteration of the website. In the reboot, information on accessing health care and coverage is presented up front in providing ease of navigation, officials described. Finding information is made easy with and easy-to-use search feature, Central Health officials added.

“The site is designed to be as inclusive as possible for the diverse audiences we serve,” Central Health Solutions and Innovation Manager Mike McKinnon said in a prepared statement. “We dramatically improved the user experience and made it really easy to get information about and enroll in the Central Health Medical Access Program (MAP).”

The final site was first tested with consumers, then with Central Health’s own eligibility specialists, officials said. Once built, officials added, the site was again tested with users to make sure their needs and concerns were addressed.

Given that more than 60 percent of those enrolled in MAP are Spanish speakers, Central Health officials understood the need to provide information for them in their language. Each page on teh new website is available in both English and Spanish, with the ability to toggle between each language with the click of a button. To ensure accuracy and comprehensibility, officials noted, the content was translated by trained language specialists rather than relying on unreliable automated translation. The site was developed with the ability to add additional languages as needed, officials noted.

“This wasn’t just a choice to check a box, but to be culturally responsible," Director of Communications and Community Engagement Iván Dávila said in a prepared statement. "We felt it was our duty to give Spanish-speaking users the same level of service and information as English users. We can’t claim we meet people where they are if we aren’t providing information in a way they understand it.”

The site also features a mobile device native version and has been designed to conform with WCAG 2.0 Level AA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards.