KY · Healthcare shortage profile
Bourbon County, KY
Peak severity leads this reading: Bourbon County's highest active HPSA score is 16.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 20,252.
- Active HPSAs
- 3
- Population
- 20,252
- Peak shortage score
- 16.0
- MUA Index
- 62.0
Light-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Bourbon County carries a comparatively light shortage burden - 3 active HPSA designations, more than 20% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 3
- Active HPSA designations
- 1
- Primary-care shortages
- 16
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 80%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Bourbon County, KY 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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Closing Bourbon County's active designations would take about 3.5 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 1.6 primary care, 0.5 mental health, 1.4 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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33.3% of Bourbon County's 3 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 1 primary care, 1 mental health, 1 dental (denominator 3).
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Peak HPSA score 16.0 sits below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line.
Below-17 designations still count as shortages for program geography, but they do not clear the high-priority NHSC placement threshold on this release.
Bourbon County's mid-pack ZIP footprint
10 Census ZCTAs intersect Bourbon 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
2 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
Designated volume without a high-priority score
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Bourbon County carries 3 active designations, above 20% of real US counties. None of those scores clear HRSA's high-priority line of 17 on this release, so the page leads with severity reading rather than a national distribution chart.
State peer position. Bourbon County falls in the lower half of KY counties by active-designation volume, at rank 68 of 120. 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: 21017. Population: 20,252.
Medically Underserved Area
Active HPSA 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 3 active (designated) HPSAs in Bourbon County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| LI-Bourbon County | primary_care | 16.0 |
| LI-Bourbon County | mental_health | 15.0 |
| LI - Bourbon County | dental | 15.0 |
Light-burden reading for Bourbon County
Peak severity leads this reading: Bourbon County's highest active HPSA score is 16.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Primary care is where Bourbon County is stretched thinnest: HRSA scores it 16.0 of 25, the county's highest severity reading and still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. Mental health reads 15.0 of 25; Dental care reads 15.0 of 26. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 62.0, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Bourbon County carries 3 active designations and sits below the national mid-pack (above 20% of counties). A light footprint still matters: a single high-score dental or mental-health record can open program geography even when the county total looks small next to heavy peers.
Bourbon County falls in the lower half of KY counties by active-designation volume, at rank 68 of 120. Read the active scores and the deepest-care guide link below before collapsing this county into a "no shortage" story.
Light-volume FTE gap for Bourbon County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Bourbon County's active designations: about 3.5 FTE, a federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
Counties near Bourbon County's primary score of 16.0
One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active primary HPSA score to 16.0 (severity lead on this page is “LI-Bourbon County”).
Dubuque County, IA
16.0 primary score · 99,266 pop.
Dane County, WI
16.0 primary score · 561,504 pop.
Lake County, FL
16.0 primary score · 383,956 pop.
Jefferson County, MO
16.0 primary score · 226,739 pop.
Lee County, AL
16.0 primary score · 174,241 pop.
Berkshire County, MA
16.0 primary score · 129,026 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Bourbon County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Bourbon County carries an MUA designation (index 62.0; 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 Bourbon County's peak score of 16.0?
- "LI-Bourbon County" leads the active set (score 16.0; primary care; 2,012 people in the service area; ~1.6 FTE still needed on the record; designated 03/15/2022). Below 17 the shortage is formal but outside HRSA's high-priority NHSC tier. Discipline mix across 3 active rows: 1 primary care, 1 mental health, 1 dental.
- Which other active designations sit under Bourbon County's severity reading?
- After "LI-Bourbon County", the next active names on this release are "LI-Bourbon County", "LI-Bourbon County" and "LI - Bourbon County". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~3.5 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 21017. 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 21017 (Bourbon County, KY), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 3; peak score 16.0; signature peak score 16.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.