Medically Underserved Area Primary · mental · dental footprint

MS · Healthcare shortage profile

Franklin County, MS

The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Franklin County's active designations would take about 26 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 7,675.

Active HPSAs
9
Population
7,675
Peak shortage score
22.0
MUA Index
57.6

Heavy-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Franklin County carries a heavier shortage burden than most US counties - 9 active HPSA designations, more than 75% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.

9
Active HPSA designations
3
Primary-care shortages
22
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 25%
US counties by volume

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Franklin County, MS 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 Franklin County's active designations would take about 26 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 1.2 primary care, 23 mental health, 1.9 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  3. 33.3% of Franklin County's 9 active designations are primary care.

    Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 3 primary care, 3 mental health, 3 dental (denominator 9).

Few Census ZCTAs touch Franklin County

The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 8 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting Franklin County, a sparse footprint relative to most US counties in this mirror (at or below the 9-ZIP tercile cut).

Intersecting ZCTA

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, Franklin County carries 9 active designations, above 75% of real US counties. Use the state peer line below before treating the national percentile as a local access verdict.

State peer position. Franklin County falls in the upper quarter of MS counties by active-designation volume, at rank 10 of 82. 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: 28037. Population: 7,675.

3
Primary Care HPSAs
3
Mental Health HPSAs
3
Dental HPSAs

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 57.6

Peak severity 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 9 active (designated) HPSAs in Franklin County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
LI - Franklin County primary_care 22.0
Family Medical Group OF Meadville primary_care 21.0
Family Medical Group OF Bude primary_care 21.0
Franklin County dental 20.0
Family Medical Group OF Meadville mental_health 19.0
Family Medical Group OF Bude mental_health 19.0
Family Medical Group OF Bude dental 19.0
Family Medical Group OF Meadville dental 19.0
Mental Health Catchment Area 12 mental_health 13.0

Heavy-burden reading for Franklin County

The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Franklin County's active designations would take about 26 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Primary care is where Franklin 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 57.6, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Volume places Franklin County above 75% of real US counties (9 active designations: 3 primary care, 3 mental health, 3 dental). Peak severity on the current designated set is 22.0. 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.

Franklin County falls in the upper quarter of MS counties by active-designation volume, at rank 10 of 82. 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.

Franklin 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

Heavy-volume FTE gap in Franklin County

Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 26 FTE across Franklin 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 Franklin County, MS · 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

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

  • Franklin County's 9 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 MS before you draw conclusions from a single score. MS 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 Primary Care Shortage Score

Other U.S. counties whose active HRSA primary-care HPSA score is closest to Franklin County's 22.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Daviess County, KY and Halifax County, NC.

Showing 6 of 2932 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.

Counties with a matching designation count to Franklin County's 9

One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 9 - the inventory behind the ~26 FTE published need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Franklin County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
Yes - Franklin County carries an MUA designation (index 57.6; 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 Franklin County?
Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~26 FTE, with mental health the largest slice (23). "LI - Franklin County" is the highest-scored active row (score 22.0; primary care; 3,552 people in the service area; ~1.2 FTE still needed on the record; designated 02/22/2022). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
Which named designations drive Franklin County's FTE reading?
Active names on this release include "LI - Franklin County", "FAMILY MEDICAL GROUP OF MEADVILLE", "FAMILY MEDICAL GROUP OF BUDE" and "Franklin County". Discipline counts: 3 primary care, 3 mental health, 3 dental across 9 designated rows.
Do Franklin 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 Franklin County's FTE burden compare inside MS?
9 active designations and ~26 FTE published need. Franklin County falls in the upper quarter of MS counties by active-designation volume, at rank 10 of 82. Score-nearest counties on this release include Daviess County, KY and Halifax County, NC.

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 28037. 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 28037 (Franklin County, MS), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 9; peak score 22.0; signature 26 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.