MI · Healthcare shortage profile
Ottawa County, MI
Peak severity leads this reading: Ottawa County's highest active HPSA score is 15.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 296,200.
- Active HPSAs
- 1
- Population
- 296,200
- Peak shortage score
- 15.0
- MUA Index
- 59.5
Light-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Ottawa County carries a comparatively light shortage burden - 1 active HPSA designation, more than 2% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 1
- Active HPSA designations
- 1
- Primary-care shortages
- 15
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 98%
- US counties by volume
Dense ZCTA lattice over Ottawa County
Ottawa County intersects 25 Census ZCTAs, above the 15-ZIP dense-tercile cut. Shortage designations still attach at the county (or smaller HPSA) grain; the ZIP list is geography, not a second severity score.
Largest land-share ZCTAs in this county
13 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.
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Ottawa County, MI 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 Ottawa County's active designations would take about 1.3 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 1.3 primary care. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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100% of Ottawa County's 1 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 1 primary care, 0 mental health, 0 dental (denominator 1).
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Peak HPSA score 15.0 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.
Corpus placement
Designated volume without a high-priority score
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Ottawa County carries 1 active designation, above 2% 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. Ottawa County falls in the lower half of MI counties by active-designation volume, at rank 78 of 83. 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: 26139. Population: 296,200.
Medically Underserved Area
Active HPSA scores
Current designated records only · primary care only on this FIPS. Scores range 0–25 (primary/mental health), 0–26 (dental). Higher = greater need. What counts as a high score?
Highest-severity HPSA designations
All 1 active (designated) HPSAs in Ottawa County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| MFW-Allegan/Ottawa Counties | primary_care | 15.0 |
Light-burden reading for Ottawa County
Peak severity leads this reading: Ottawa County's highest active HPSA score is 15.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Primary care is where Ottawa County is stretched thinnest: HRSA scores it 15.0 of 25, the county's highest severity reading and still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 59.5, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Ottawa County carries 1 active designation and sits below the national mid-pack (above 2% 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.
Ottawa County falls in the lower half of MI counties by active-designation volume, at rank 78 of 83. Read the active scores and the deepest-care guide link below before collapsing this county into a "no shortage" story.
Counties near Ottawa County's primary score of 15.0
One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active primary HPSA score to 15.0 (severity lead on this page is “MFW-Allegan/Ottawa Counties”).
Stearns County, MN
15.0 primary score · 158,292 pop.
Kennebec County, ME
15.0 primary score · 123,642 pop.
Lafourche County, LA
15.0 primary score · 97,557 pop.
Lewis County, WA
15.0 primary score · 82,149 pop.
Warren County, NY
15.0 primary score · 65,737 pop.
Essex County, NJ
15.0 primary score · 863,728 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Ottawa County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Ottawa County carries an MUA designation (index 59.5; 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 Ottawa County's peak score of 15.0?
- "MFW-Allegan/Ottawa Counties" leads the active set (score 15.0; primary care; 4,021 people in the service area; ~1.3 FTE still needed on the record; designated 05/24/2022). Below 17 the shortage is formal but outside HRSA's high-priority NHSC tier. Discipline mix across 1 active rows: 1 primary care, 0 mental health, 0 dental.
- What provider types does Ottawa County's severity cover?
- Active rows break down 1 primary care / 0 mental health / 0 dental. Closing published gaps would take about 1.3 additional clinician FTEs on this release.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 26139. This county’s designations come from BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_PC.csv (primary care) — 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 26139 (Ottawa County, MI), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 1; peak score 15.0; signature peak score 15.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.