Medically Underserved Area Designated · below priority line

NC · Healthcare shortage profile

Yancey County, NC

Home to 18,470 residents, with 6 active HRSA shortage designations.

Active HPSAs
6
Population
18,470
Peak shortage score
16.0
MUA Index
46.5
NC state overview → About this data

Mid-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Yancey County holds a moderate federal shortage burden - 6 active HPSA designations, more than 54% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.

6
Active HPSA designations
2
Mental-health shortages
16
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 46%
US counties by volume

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Yancey County, NC 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. 33.3% of Yancey County's 6 active designations are primary care.

    Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental (denominator 6).

  2. Closing Yancey County's active designations would take about 15 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 2.7 primary care, 11 mental health, 1.8 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  3. 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.

Corpus placement

Designated volume without a high-priority score

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Yancey County carries 6 active designations, above 54% 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. Yancey County falls in the upper half of NC counties by active-designation volume, at rank 28 of 100. 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: 37199. Population: 18,470.

Below high-priority line

Yancey County is designated, but no active score clears 17

6 active designations sit on this FIPS (2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental), and the peak severity is 16.0. That is a formal shortage footprint without HRSA's high-priority (≥17) tier, so NHSC placement geography is usually weaker here than on counties whose lead score clears the line.

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 46.5

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 14.0
Mental Health 16.0
Dental 15.0

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 6 active (designated) HPSAs in Yancey County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
Blue Ridge Medical Center - Yancey Campus mental_health 16.0
LI - Western Highlands Mhca mental_health 16.0
Blue Ridge Medical Center - Yancey Campus dental 15.0
LI - Yancey County dental 15.0
Blue Ridge Medical Center - Yancey Campus primary_care 14.0
LI - Mitchell/Yancey Counties primary_care 14.0

Moderate-burden reading for Yancey County

Yancey County's severest measured gap is in mental health, scored 16.0 of 25, still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. Primary care reads 14.0 of 25; Dental care reads 15.0 of 26. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 46.5, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Yancey County sits in the middle of the national designation-volume distribution (above 54% of counties) with 6 active records. That is enough for a formal shortage footprint without landing in the heaviest US tier. Compare the three discipline counts (2/2/2) before assuming every care category is equally short.

Yancey County falls in the upper half of NC counties by active-designation volume, at rank 28 of 100. For moderate counties, the useful move is usually a state peer check plus the score cards above, not a national superlative claim.

Clinician FTE gap by care type

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

Nationwide counties with similar HRSA profiles

Two peer sets for Yancey County: active designation volume and primary-care HPSA score, ranked across the national county corpus.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Yancey County a Medically Underserved Area?

Yes, Yancey County is designated as a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) by HRSA. The MUA Index for this county is 46.5. MUA designation qualifies the area for enhanced federal funding and provider incentive programs.

How many healthcare shortage areas does Yancey County have?

Yancey County, NC has 6 Health Professional Shortage Area designations: 2 in primary care, 2 in mental health, and 2 in dental care, according to HRSA data.

What does Yancey County's HPSA score of 16.0 mean?

16.0 in mental health falls under 17, so the shortage is formally designated but outside HRSA's high-priority tier.

What healthcare providers are needed in Yancey County?

Based on HRSA shortage designations, Yancey County needs additional providers in primary care (family physicians, internists, pediatricians), mental health (psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers), and dental care (dentists, dental hygienists). The National Health Service Corps offers loan repayment and scholarship programs for providers who serve in designated shortage areas.

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 37199. 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.