When Health Is Communicated Well, the Community Benefits: My Health Fair in the 2026 PHCC Ambassador Program
In Massachusetts, approximately one in four households speaks a language other than English as its primary language.
This proportion is higher than the national average, and Spanish is the most widely spoken language in the state.
Among people with limited English proficiency, Spanish is also the predominant language.
Behind these numbers is a question that defines much of the public health work in the state:
How does health information reach the people who need it most, in a language they can understand and from a source they can trust?
That question has guided the work of My Health Fair (MHF) since its founding. MHF is a bilingual virtual health fair that connects Massachusetts communities with health information and resources throughout the year.
It is also why a recent announcement has special meaning for the team:
Romina Wilmot, founder of My Health Fair, has been selected as part of the 2026 cohort of the Public Health Communications Collaborative (PHCC) Ambassador Program.
The program is a national community of professionals dedicated to strengthening public health communication.
Wilmot is a senior-level business development specialist in the healthcare sector with more than a decade of experience building strategic and community partnerships.
What Is the Public Health Communications Collaborative?
The PHCC is an initiative dedicated to strengthening public health communication in the United States.
It brings together professionals from across the field to share resources, exchange experiences, and provide feedback on the challenges facing their communities.
The 2026 cohort, the third cohort of the program, includes 82 public health professionals from different roles, regions, and areas of expertise.
Over the coming months, the cohort will participate in virtual meetings, presentations, and opportunities to exchange ideas about the needs and challenges they see in their communities.
What Does This Role Mean for My Health Fair?
The appointment creates a concrete opportunity for the platform:
To connect with other public health communicators across the country, learn new strategies, and at the same time bring the experiences of Massachusetts families to a national network.
For MHF, this means continuing to build bridges between:
- health information and the people who need it;
- organizations and the communities they serve;
- available resources and the families who need to find them.
Why Public Health Communication Matters
Information can be accurate and still have limited impact if people cannot find it, understand it, or trust it.
Communicating about health means continually asking:
- Does the community understand this message?
- Is it available in the language they need?
- Do they know where to seek help?
- Are we using reliable sources?
- Are we listening to what the community actually needs?
What Can the Community Expect?
Romina Wilmot’s participation in the PHCC Ambassador Program strengthens the way My Health Fair approaches communication:
- Reliable information: health content based on verified sources.
- Complex topics explained simply, because understanding information is the first step toward being able to use it.
- Connection to resources: helping families find organizations and programs available in Massachusetts.
- Active listening: community questions help identify the topics that need more attention.
- Shared learning: bringing new ideas from this national network into our work while sharing Massachusetts communities’ experiences with others.
Resources in Massachusetts
For people looking for help accessing health information or services in their language:
- HealthCare For All – free assistance in Spanish with healthcare coverage questions and applications.
- Mass 2-1-1 – free referral service for health and social services throughout the state.
- MIRA Coalition – resources related to language access in Massachusetts.
- HRSA Health Center Finder (findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov) – a tool for locating community health centers.
This achievement adds to the collaborative work My Health Fair carries out with El Mundo Boston and other communication partners, helping these messages reach more households across Massachusetts.
My Health Fair connects Massachusetts communities with health information, resources, and organizations throughout the year.
Visit MyHealthFair.com for more information.
