FL · Healthcare shortage profile
Hardee County, FL
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Hardee County's active designations would take about 29 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 25,327.
- Active HPSAs
- 12
- Population
- 25,327
- Peak shortage score
- 21.0
- MUA Index
- 61.3
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Hardee County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 12 active HPSA designations, more than 85% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 12
- Active HPSA designations
- 4
- Mental-health shortages
- 21
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 15%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Hardee County, FL 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.
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Peak HPSA score 21.0 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.
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Closing Hardee County's active designations would take about 29 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 4.5 primary care, 22 mental health, 2.6 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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33.3% of Hardee County's 12 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 4 primary care, 4 mental health, 4 dental (denominator 12).
Few Census ZCTAs touch Hardee County
The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 4 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting Hardee County, a sparse footprint relative to most US counties in this mirror (at or below the 9-ZIP tercile cut).
Intersecting ZCTA
Source: Census ZCTA–county relationship file joined to this portal's county FIPS set. As of 2026-08-15.
Hardee County vs. every real US county
Total active HPSA designations, including counties with none
12 Top 15% higher than 85% of 3,289 real US counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more real US counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source HRSA Data Warehouse, designated HPSAs · 2026
State peer position. Hardee County falls in the upper quarter of FL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 16 of 67. Ties share a rank; the comparison uses the same current designated records as the national chart.
Healthcare shortage designations from HRSA. FIPS: 12049. Population: 25,327.
Medically Underserved Area
Peak severity scores
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 12 active (designated) HPSAs in Hardee County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| CF-Hardee Correctional Institution | mental_health | 21.0 |
| Sonnis Pediatrics Inc | mental_health | 19.0 |
| Sonnis Pediatrics Inc | dental | 18.0 |
| Adventhealth Family Medicine Wauchula | mental_health | 17.0 |
| LI-CentralFLBehavioralHealthNetwork-Circuit10-MHCA | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Adventhealth Family Medicine Wauchula | dental | 17.0 |
| LI/MFW-Hardee County | dental | 14.0 |
| Hardee County | primary_care | 13.0 |
| Sonnis Pediatrics Inc | primary_care | 12.0 |
| Adventhealth Family Medicine Wauchula | primary_care | 12.0 |
| CF-Hardee Correctional Institution & Work Camp | primary_care | 12.0 |
| CF-Hardee Correctional Institution | dental | 3.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Hardee County
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Hardee County's active designations would take about 29 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Hardee County's severest measured gap is in mental health, scored 21.0 of 25, past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Primary care reads 13.0 of 25; Dental care reads 18.0 of 26. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 61.3, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Hardee County above 85% of real US counties (12 active designations: 4 primary care, 4 mental health, 4 dental). Peak severity on the current designated set is 21.0. The table on this page lists the highest-severity records first so a reader can see which named facilities, geographies, or population groups drive that burden without treating the county total as a personal appointment forecast.
Hardee County falls in the upper quarter of FL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 16 of 67. Heavy-burden counties are where NHSC placement, Community Health Center grant geography, and related federal instruments concentrate; eligibility still follows the designated area and provider type, not the county boundary alone.
Hardee County designations by care type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).
- Mental health
Mental health
4 designations
- Dental
Dental
4 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Hardee County
Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 29 FTE across Hardee County's active designations (once per HPSA id), a federal gap estimate, not practising headcount.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse, Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) + Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/P) HPSA primary-care, mental-health, and dental designations for Hardee County, FL · 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 a heavy-burden county
Hardee County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Hardee County's 12 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 FL before you draw conclusions from a single score. FL 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.
Counties With a Similar Mental Health Shortage Score
Other U.S. counties whose active HRSA mental-health HPSA score is closest to Hardee County's 21.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Prince William County, VA and Orange County, NY.
Showing 6 of 3081 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties with a matching designation count to Hardee County's 12
One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 12 - the inventory behind the ~29 FTE published need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Hardee County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Hardee County carries an MUA designation (index 61.3; lower = greater measured need) in addition to its HPSA rows. MUA and HPSA are separate HRSA tracks; both can open different federal pathways.
- Where is the largest clinician FTE gap inside Hardee County?
- Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~29 FTE, with mental health the largest slice (22). "CF-Hardee Correctional Institution" is the highest-scored active row (score 21.0; mental health; 3,674 people in the service area; ~1.8 FTE still needed on the record; designated 05/07/2014). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
- Which named designations drive Hardee County's FTE reading?
- Active names on this release include "CF-Hardee Correctional Institution", "SONNIS PEDIATRICS INC", "SONNIS PEDIATRICS INC" and "ADVENTHEALTH FAMILY MEDICINE WAUCHULA". Discipline counts: 4 primary care, 4 mental health, 4 dental across 12 designated rows.
- Do Hardee County's FTE gaps unlock federal programs?
- Yes where an ACTIVE designation exists, NHSC, CHC grants, Medicare bonus and J-1 waivers follow the designated geography and provider type. A published FTE gap without an active row does not, by itself, open those pathways.
- How does Hardee County's FTE burden compare inside FL?
- 12 active designations and ~29 FTE published need. Hardee County falls in the upper quarter of FL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 16 of 67. Score-nearest counties on this release include Prince William County, VA and Orange County, NY.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 12049. 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 12049 (Hardee County, FL), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 12; peak score 21.0; signature 29 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.