Medically Underserved Area Primary · mental · dental footprint

AL · Healthcare shortage profile

Sumter County, AL

Peak severity leads this reading: Sumter County's highest active HPSA score is 22.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 12,345.

Active HPSAs
6
Population
12,345
Peak shortage score
22.0
MUA Index
40.3

Mid-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Sumter County holds a moderate federal shortage burden - 6 active HPSA designations, more than 54% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.

6
Active HPSA designations
2
Primary-care shortages
22
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 46%
US counties by volume

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Sumter County, AL on its own pages , computed from the retained designation mirror as of 2026-08-15. Each line carries its own denominator so it can be quoted as it stands.

  1. Peak HPSA score 22.0 clears HRSA's 17-point high-priority line.

    Scores at or above 17 on the 0–25/26 scales open NHSC placement priority for the matching provider type; eligibility still follows the designated area, not the county boundary alone.

  2. Closing Sumter County's active designations would take about 4.9 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 1.9 primary care, 1.7 mental health, 1.3 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  3. 33.3% of Sumter County's 6 active designations are primary care.

    Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental (denominator 6).

Sumter County's mid-pack ZIP footprint

11 Census ZCTAs intersect Sumter County, between the 9 and 15 ZIP cuts across published counties: neither a postage-stamp footprint nor a metro-scale lattice.

Largest land-share ZCTAs

3 additional ZCTAs intersect this county in the crosswalk (ordered by land share).

Source: Census ZCTA–county relationship file joined to this portal's county FIPS set. As of 2026-08-15.

Corpus placement

Active-designation volume placement

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Sumter County carries 6 active designations, above 54% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.

State peer position. Sumter County falls in the upper quarter of AL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 12 of 67. Ties share a rank.

Computed from current designated HPSA rows for every five-digit county FIPS. See the placement methodology.

Healthcare shortage designations from HRSA. FIPS: 01119. Population: 12,345.

2
Primary Care HPSAs
2
Mental Health HPSAs
2
Dental HPSAs

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 40.3

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 22.0
Mental Health 19.0
Dental 20.0

Current designated records only. Scores range 0–25 (primary/mental health), 0–26 (dental). Higher = greater need. What counts as a high score?

Highest-severity HPSA designations

All 6 active (designated) HPSAs in Sumter County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
Hill Hospital Physicians Clinic primary_care 22.0
Sumter County primary_care 20.0
LI - Sumter County dental 20.0
Hill Hospital Physicians Clinic mental_health 19.0
Hill Hospital Physicians Clinic dental 19.0
Mhca-10 mental_health 12.0

Moderate-burden reading for Sumter County

Peak severity leads this reading: Sumter County's highest active HPSA score is 22.0, clearing HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Primary care is where Sumter County is stretched thinnest: HRSA scores it 22.0 of 25, the county's highest severity reading and past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Mental health reads 19.0 of 25; Dental care reads 20.0 of 26. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 40.3, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Sumter County sits in the middle of the national designation-volume distribution (above 54% of counties) with 6 active records. That is enough for a formal shortage footprint without landing in the heaviest US tier. Compare the three discipline counts (2/2/2) before assuming every care category is equally short.

Sumter County falls in the upper quarter of AL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 12 of 67. For moderate counties, the useful move is usually a state peer check plus the score cards above, not a national superlative claim.

Sumter County designations by care type

Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).

designations
Source HRSA Data Warehouse, designated HPSAs As of 2026

Mid-pack clinician FTE gap for Sumter County

HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Sumter County's active designations: about 4.9 FTE, a federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse, Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) + Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/P) HPSA primary-care, mental-health, and dental designations for Sumter County, AL · 2026 HRSA designation data updated quarterly; HPSA scores 0-25 (primary/mental) and 0-26 (dental); higher = greater shortage severity. Coverage tiers from U.S. Census ACS PUMS + KFF state tracker.

Acting on Sumter County's designations

Sumter County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.

  • Sumter County's 6 active designations make providers here eligible for National Health Service Corps loan repayment, estimate the award and service terms. NHSC estimator
  • See how the county's primary care burden compares with the rest of AL before you draw conclusions from a single score. AL overview
  • Check whether an area clears HRSA's 3,500:1 population-to-provider threshold with the provider-to-population ratio behind an HPSA score. HPSA score lookup

HPSA scores describe shortage severity within HRSA's designation criteria, not the availability of any individual provider. For a specific appointment, contact a provider or your insurer; use HRSA's current tools to verify a designation.

Nearby primary-care score peers

Closest U.S. counties on active primary-care HPSA score to Sumter County's 22.0. Open Daviess County, KY or Halifax County, NC next.

Showing 3 of 2932 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.

Counties near Sumter County's primary score of 22.0

One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active primary HPSA score to 22.0 (severity lead on this page is “HILL HOSPITAL PHYSICIANS CLINIC”).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Sumter County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
Yes - Sumter County carries an MUA designation (index 40.3; lower = greater measured need) in addition to its HPSA rows. MUA and HPSA are separate HRSA tracks; both can open different federal pathways.
Which record sets Sumter County's peak score of 22.0?
"HILL HOSPITAL PHYSICIANS CLINIC" leads the active set (score 22.0; primary care; 36,259 people in the service area; designated 11/24/2025). Clearing 17 opens NHSC high-priority placement for the matching provider type on the designated geography. Discipline mix across 6 active rows: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental.
Which other active designations sit under Sumter County's severity reading?
After "HILL HOSPITAL PHYSICIANS CLINIC", the next active names on this release are "HILL HOSPITAL PHYSICIANS CLINIC", "Sumter County", "LI - Sumter County" and "HILL HOSPITAL PHYSICIANS CLINIC". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~4.9 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
Which federal pathways follow Sumter County's high-severity geography?
Sumter County's 6 active designations can open NHSC placement, CHC grants, Medicare bonus and J-1 waivers, eligibility follows the designated area and provider type, not merely the county line around "HILL HOSPITAL PHYSICIANS CLINIC".

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 01119. This county’s designations come from BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_PC.csv (primary care) , BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_MH.csv (mental health) and BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_DH.csv (dental) — download the normalized export on our open data page. PlainHealthAccess is not affiliated with HRSA or any government agency.

HRSA Data Warehouse HPSA + MUA/P records for FIPS 01119 (Sumter County, AL), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 6; peak score 22.0; signature peak score 22.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.