Does Bristol City County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?

Yes - Bristol City County carries an MUA designation (index 58.0; 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 Bristol City County's peak score of 15.0?

"LI - Highlands Service Area" leads the active set (score 15.0; mental health; 10,200 people in the service area; ~1.1 FTE still needed on the record; designated 04/07/2020). Below 17 the shortage is formal but outside HRSA's high-priority NHSC tier. Discipline mix across 3 active rows: 1 primary care, 1 mental health, 1 dental.

Which other active designations sit under Bristol City County's severity reading?

After "LI - Highlands Service Area", the next active names on this release are "LI - Highlands Service Area", "LI - Washington County/Bristol City" and "LI - Washington County/Bristol City". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~9.4 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.

Medically Underserved Area Designated · below priority line

VA · Healthcare shortage profile

Bristol City County, VA

Peak severity leads this reading: Bristol City County's highest active HPSA score is 15.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 17,219.

Active HPSAs: 3
Population: 17,219
Peak shortage score: 15.0
MUA Index: 58.0

VA state overview → About this data

Light-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Bristol City County carries a comparatively light shortage burden - 3 active HPSA designations, more than 20% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.

3
Active HPSA designations: 1
Mental-health shortages: 15
Peak severity score (of 26): Top 80%
US counties by volume

Few Census ZCTAs touch Bristol City County

The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 2 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting Bristol City 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 Bristol City 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 Bristol City County's active designations would take about 9.4 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.

HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 5.1 primary care, 1.1 mental health, 3.3 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
33.3% of Bristol City County's 3 active designations are primary care.

Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 1 primary care, 1 mental health, 1 dental (denominator 3).
Peak HPSA score 15.0 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, Bristol City 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. Bristol City 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: 51520. Population: 17,219.

Medically Underserved Area

MUA Designated

MUA Index: 58.0

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 14.0

Mental Health 15.0

Dental 13.0

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 3 active (designated) HPSAs in Bristol City County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name	Type	Score	Status	Pop. Served
LI - Highlands Service Area	mental_health	15.0	designated	10,200
LI - Washington County/Bristol City	primary_care	14.0	designated	8,580
LI - Washington County/Bristol City	dental	13.0	designated	10,622

Light-burden reading for Bristol City County

Peak severity leads this reading: Bristol City County's highest active HPSA score is 15.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Bristol City County's severest measured gap is in mental health, scored 15.0 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 13.0 of 26. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 58.0, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Bristol City 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.

Bristol City 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 Bristol City County

HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Bristol City County's active designations: about 9.4 FTE, a federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

Primary care 5.1 FTE (54%) Dental 3.3 FTE (35%) Mental health 1.1 FTE (11%)

Counties near Bristol City County's mental score of 15.0

One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active mental HPSA score to 15.0 (severity lead on this page is “LI - Highlands Service Area”).

Mercer County, PA

15.0 mental score · 110,652 pop.

Georgetown County, SC

15.0 mental score · 63,404 pop.

Polk County, TX

15.0 mental score · 50,123 pop.

Ohio County, WV

15.0 mental score · 42,425 pop.

Clark County, WA

15.0 mental score · 503,311 pop.

Union County, NC

15.0 mental score · 238,267 pop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Bristol City County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?: Yes - Bristol City County carries an MUA designation (index 58.0; 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 Bristol City County's peak score of 15.0?: "LI - Highlands Service Area" leads the active set (score 15.0; mental health; 10,200 people in the service area; ~1.1 FTE still needed on the record; designated 04/07/2020). Below 17 the shortage is formal but outside HRSA's high-priority NHSC tier. Discipline mix across 3 active rows: 1 primary care, 1 mental health, 1 dental.
Which other active designations sit under Bristol City County's severity reading?: After "LI - Highlands Service Area", the next active names on this release are "LI - Highlands Service Area", "LI - Washington County/Bristol City" and "LI - Washington County/Bristol City". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~9.4 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.

Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 51520. 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 51520 (Bristol City County, VA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 3; peak score 15.0; signature peak score 15.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.