GA · Healthcare shortage profile
Towns County, GA
Peak severity leads this reading: Towns County's highest active HPSA score is 16.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Population 12,493.
- Active HPSAs
- 3
- Population
- 12,493
- Peak shortage score
- 16.0
- MUA Index
- 52.5
Light-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Towns 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
- 16
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 80%
- US counties by volume
Few Census ZCTAs touch Towns County
The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 3 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting Towns 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 Towns County, GA 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.
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Closing Towns County's active designations would take about 11 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 1.2 primary care, 9.1 mental health, 1 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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33.3% of Towns 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).
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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, Towns 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. Towns County falls in the upper half of GA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 43 of 159. 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: 13281. Population: 12,493.
Medically Underserved Area
Active HPSA scores
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 Towns County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| LI - Mhca 3/Avita Community Partners | mental_health | 16.0 |
| LI-Towns County | dental | 16.0 |
| LI-Towns County | primary_care | 15.0 |
Light-burden reading for Towns County
Peak severity leads this reading: Towns County's highest active HPSA score is 16.0, still below HRSA's 17-point high-priority line. Towns 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. Primary care reads 15.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 52.5, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Towns 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.
Towns County falls in the upper half of GA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 43 of 159. 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 Towns County
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id for Towns County's active designations: about 11 FTE, a federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
Counties near Towns County's mental score of 16.0
One peer set for this severity-led county: nearest active mental HPSA score to 16.0 (severity lead on this page is “LI - MHCA 3/Avita Community Partners”).
Jefferson County, MO
16.0 mental score · 226,739 pop.
Carroll County, MD
16.0 mental score · 172,891 pop.
Rowan County, NC
16.0 mental score · 146,875 pop.
Bonneville County, ID
16.0 mental score · 123,964 pop.
Rockwall County, TX
16.0 mental score · 107,819 pop.
Wayne County, NY
16.0 mental score · 91,283 pop.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Towns County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Towns County carries an MUA designation (index 52.5; 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 Towns County's peak score of 16.0?
- "LI - MHCA 3/Avita Community Partners" leads the active set (score 16.0; mental health; 66,994 people in the service area; ~9.1 FTE still needed on the record; designated 11/22/2021). 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 Towns County's severity reading?
- After "LI - MHCA 3/Avita Community Partners", the next active names on this release are "LI - MHCA 3/Avita Community Partners", "LI-Towns County" and "LI-Towns County". Provider need (id-de-duped) totals ~11 FTE across disciplines that still carry a gap.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 13281. 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 13281 (Towns County, GA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 3; peak score 16.0; signature peak score 16.0. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.