VA · Healthcare shortage profile
Roanoke County, VA
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Roanoke County's active designations would take about 18 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 96,929.
- Active HPSAs
- 3
- Population
- 96,929
- Peak shortage score
- 16.0
- MUA Index
- -
Light-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Roanoke County carries a comparatively light shortage burden - 3 active HPSA designations, more than 20% of the 3,289 real US counties, with mental health the deepest gap.
- 3
- Active HPSA designations
- 2
- Mental-health shortages
- 16
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 80%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Roanoke County, VA 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.
-
Closing Roanoke County's active designations would take about 18 additional clinician FTEs, with dental the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 4 mental health, 14 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
-
66.7% of Roanoke County's 3 active designations are mental health.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 0 primary care, 2 mental health, 1 dental (denominator 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.
Roanoke County's mid-pack ZIP footprint
14 Census ZCTAs intersect Roanoke 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
6 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, Roanoke County carries 3 active designations, above 20% 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. Roanoke County falls in the upper half of VA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 55 of 133. 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: 51161. Population: 96,929.
Active HPSA scores
Current designated records only. No Medically Underserved Area designation covers Roanoke County in the current HRSA release, federal support here runs through the HPSA route alone. Scores range 0–25 (primary/mental health), 0–26 (dental). Higher = greater need. What counts as a high score?
Highest-severity HPSA designations
All 3 active (designated) HPSAs in Roanoke County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| LI - Blueridge Mhca | mental_health | 16.0 |
| LI - Roanoke County/Roanoke City/Salem City | dental | 16.0 |
| SMH-Catawba Hospital | mental_health | 8.0 |
Light-burden reading for Roanoke County
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Roanoke County's active designations would take about 18 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Roanoke County's shortage runs equally deep in mental health and dental care: both scored 16.0 by HRSA, still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. No Medically Underserved Area designation covers Roanoke County, so federal support here runs through the HPSA route alone.
Roanoke County carries 3 active designations and sits below the national mid-pack (above 20% 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.
Roanoke County falls in the upper half of VA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 55 of 133. 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 Roanoke County
Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 18 FTE across Roanoke County's active designations (once per HPSA id), a federal gap estimate, not practising headcount.
Counties with a matching designation count to Roanoke County's 3
One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 3 - the inventory behind the ~18 FTE published need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Where is the largest clinician FTE gap inside Roanoke County?
- Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~18 FTE, with dental the largest slice (14). "LI - Blueridge MHCA" is the highest-scored active row (score 16.0; mental health; 18,400 people in the service area; ~4 FTE still needed on the record; designated 09/08/2021). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
- Why is Roanoke County not listed as a Medically Underserved Area?
- Roanoke County has no MUA designation on this release. Federal shortage support here runs through the active HPSA record set alone.
- Which named designations drive Roanoke County's FTE reading?
- Active names on this release include "LI - Blueridge MHCA", "LI - Roanoke County/Roanoke City/Salem City" and "SMH-Catawba Hospital". Discipline counts: 0 primary care, 2 mental health, 1 dental across 3 designated rows.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 51161. This county’s designations come from 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 51161 (Roanoke County, VA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 3; peak score 16.0; signature 18 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.