Medically Underserved Area Mono-discipline · primary care

TN · Healthcare shortage profile

Cheatham County, TN

MUA standing opens this profile: Cheatham County sits inside a Medically Underserved Area indexed at 60.7 (lower index = greater measured need). Population 41,072.

Active HPSAs
1
Population
41,072
Peak shortage score
8.0
MUA Index
60.7

Light-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Cheatham 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
8
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 98%
US counties by volume

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Cheatham County, TN 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 Cheatham County's active designations would take about 1.2 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.

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

  2. 100% of Cheatham 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).

  3. Peak HPSA score 8.0 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.

Cheatham County's mid-pack ZIP footprint

12 Census ZCTAs intersect Cheatham 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

4 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, Cheatham 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. Cheatham County falls in the lower half of TN counties by active-designation volume, at rank 87 of 95. 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: 47021. Population: 41,072.

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 60.7

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 8.0

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 Cheatham County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
Cheatham County primary_care 8.0

Light-burden reading for Cheatham County

MUA standing opens this profile: Cheatham County sits inside a Medically Underserved Area indexed at 60.7 (lower index = greater measured need). Primary care is where Cheatham County is stretched thinnest: HRSA scores it 8.0 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 60.7, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Cheatham 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.

Cheatham County falls in the lower half of TN counties by active-designation volume, at rank 87 of 95. Read the active scores and the deepest-care guide link below before collapsing this county into a "no shortage" story.

Score neighbours for Cheatham County's MUA-led profile

One peer set beside the MUA standing: nearest primary-care HPSA score (8.0 here).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Cheatham County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
Yes - Cheatham County carries an MUA designation (index 60.7; lower = greater measured need) in addition to its HPSA rows. MUA and HPSA are separate HRSA tracks; both can open different federal pathways.
How do Cheatham County's HPSA rows sit beside the MUA?
1 active HPSA designation (1 primary care / 0 mental health / 0 dental); highest-scored active name is "Cheatham County" (score 8.0; primary care; 36,750 people in the service area; ~1.2 FTE still needed on the record; designated 11/17/2022). MUA and HPSA are separate tracks, one does not substitute for the other.
What does the 8.0 HPSA score mean next to the MUA?
8.0 sits below the 17-point high-priority HPSA line. MUA index 60.7 remains a separate need measure.

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 47021. 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 47021 (Cheatham County, TN), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 1; peak score 8.0; signature MUA index 60.7. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.