Medically Underserved Area Designated · below priority line

NE · Healthcare shortage profile

Hooker County, NE

Peak severity leads this reading: Hooker County's highest active HPSA score is 14.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 711.

Active HPSAs
2
Population
711
Peak shortage score
14.0
MUA Index
57.3
NE state overview → About this data

Light-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Hooker County carries a comparatively light shortage burden - 2 active HPSA designations, more than 10% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.

2
Active HPSA designations
1
Primary-care shortages
14
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 90%
US counties by volume

Few Census ZCTAs touch Hooker County

The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 1 ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersecting Hooker 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.

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Hooker County, NE 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. Closing Hooker County's active designations would take about 5.1 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 3.4 primary care, 1.8 mental health. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  2. 50% of Hooker County's 2 active designations are primary care.

    Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 1 primary care, 1 mental health, 0 dental (denominator 2).

  3. Peak HPSA score 14.0 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, Hooker County carries 2 active designations, above 10% 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. Hooker County falls in the lower half of NE counties by active-designation volume, at rank 56 of 92. 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: 31091. Population: 711.

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 57.3

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 14.0
Mental Health 7.0

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 2 active (designated) HPSAs in Hooker County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
LI - West Central Nebraska primary_care 14.0
Catchment Area 2 mental_health 7.0

Light-burden reading for Hooker County

Peak severity leads this reading: Hooker County's highest active HPSA score is 14.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Primary care is where Hooker County is stretched thinnest: HRSA scores it 14.0 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 7.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 57.3, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Hooker County carries 2 active designations and sits below the national mid-pack (above 10% 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.

Hooker County falls in the lower half of NE counties by active-designation volume, at rank 56 of 92. 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 Hooker County

HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Hooker County's active designations: about 5.1 FTE, a federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

Counties near Hooker County's primary score of 14.0

One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active primary HPSA score to 14.0 (severity lead on this page is “LI - West Central Nebraska”).

Parker County, TX

14.0 primary score · 148,222 pop.

Bay County, MI

14.0 primary score · 103,856 pop.

Indiana County, PA

14.0 primary score · 83,246 pop.

Hamblen County, TN

14.0 primary score · 64,499 pop.

Campbell County, VA

14.0 primary score · 55,696 pop.

Loudoun County, VA

14.0 primary score · 420,959 pop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Hooker County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
Yes - Hooker County carries an MUA designation (index 57.3; 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 Hooker County's peak score of 14.0?
"LI - West Central Nebraska" leads the active set (score 14.0; primary care; 4,553 people in the service area; ~3.4 FTE still needed on the record; designated 03/11/2025). Below 17 the shortage is formal but outside HRSA's high-priority NHSC tier. Discipline mix across 2 active rows: 1 primary care, 1 mental health, 0 dental.
Which other active designations sit under Hooker County's severity reading?
After "LI - West Central Nebraska", the next active names on this release are "LI - West Central Nebraska" and "Catchment Area 2". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~5.1 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 31091. This county’s designations come from BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_PC.csv (primary care) and BCD_HPSA_FCT_DET_MH.csv (mental health) — 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 31091 (Hooker County, NE), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 2; peak score 14.0; signature peak score 14.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.