FL · Healthcare shortage profile
Highlands County, FL
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Highlands County's active designations would take about 26 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 101,235.
- Active HPSAs
- 11
- Population
- 101,235
- Peak shortage score
- 18.0
- MUA Index
- 47.9
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Highlands County ranks among the most underserved counties in the country - 11 active HPSA designations, more than 84% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 11
- Active HPSA designations
- 4
- Mental-health shortages
- 18
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 16%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Highlands County, FL 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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Peak HPSA score 18.0 clears HRSA's 17-point high-priority line.
Scores at or above 17 on the 0–25/26 scales open NHSC placement priority for the matching provider type; eligibility still follows the designated area, not the county boundary alone.
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Closing Highlands County's active designations would take about 26 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 5.1 primary care, 21 mental health. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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36.4% of Highlands County's 11 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 4 primary care, 4 mental health, 3 dental (denominator 11).
Few Census ZCTAs touch Highlands County
The Census ZCTA-county crosswalk lists only 9 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting Highlands County, a sparse footprint relative to most US counties in this mirror (at or below the 9-ZIP tercile cut).
Intersecting ZCTA
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.
Highlands County vs. every real US county
Total active HPSA designations, including counties with none
11 Top 16% higher than 84% of 3,289 real US counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more real US counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source HRSA Data Warehouse, designated HPSAs · 2026
State peer position. Highlands County falls in the upper half of FL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 22 of 67. Ties share a rank; the comparison uses the same current designated records as the national chart.
Healthcare shortage designations from HRSA. FIPS: 12055. Population: 101,235.
Medically Underserved Area
Peak severity 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 11 active (designated) HPSAs in Highlands County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Heartland Pediatrics OF Lake P | mental_health | 18.0 |
| Heartland Pediatrics OF Lake P | dental | 18.0 |
| LI-CentralFLBehavioralHealthNetwork-Circuit10-MHCA | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Avon Park Pediatrics Inc | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Sun N Lake Medical Group - Sebring | mental_health | 17.0 |
| Avon Park Pediatrics Inc | dental | 17.0 |
| Sun N Lake Medical Group - Sebring | dental | 17.0 |
| Heartland Pediatrics OF Lake P | primary_care | 16.0 |
| Avon Park Pediatrics Inc | primary_care | 16.0 |
| Li/mfw - Highlands County | primary_care | 15.0 |
| Sun N Lake Medical Group - Sebring | primary_care | 14.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Highlands County
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Highlands County's active designations would take about 26 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Highlands County's shortage runs equally deep in mental health and dental care: both scored 18.0 by HRSA, past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Primary care reads 16.0 of 25. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 47.9, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Highlands County above 84% of real US counties (11 active designations: 4 primary care, 4 mental health, 3 dental). Peak severity on the current designated set is 18.0. The table on this page lists the highest-severity records first so a reader can see which named facilities, geographies, or population groups drive that burden without treating the county total as a personal appointment forecast.
Highlands County falls in the upper half of FL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 22 of 67. Heavy-burden counties are where NHSC placement, Community Health Center grant geography, and related federal instruments concentrate; eligibility still follows the designated area and provider type, not the county boundary alone.
Highlands County designations by care type
Active Health Professional Shortage Area designations in the county, by provider category (high-priority disciplines emphasized).
- Mental health
Mental health
4 designations
- Dental
Dental
3 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Highlands County
Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 26 FTE across Highlands County's active designations (once per HPSA id), a federal gap estimate, not practising headcount.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse, Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) + Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/P) HPSA primary-care, mental-health, and dental designations for Highlands County, FL · 2026 HRSA designation data updated quarterly; HPSA scores 0-25 (primary/mental) and 0-26 (dental); higher = greater shortage severity. Coverage tiers from U.S. Census ACS PUMS + KFF state tracker.
Acting on a heavy-burden county
Highlands County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Highlands County's 11 active designations make providers here eligible for National Health Service Corps loan repayment, estimate the award and service terms. NHSC estimator
- See how the county's primary care burden compares with the rest of FL before you draw conclusions from a single score. FL overview
- Check whether an area clears HRSA's 3,500:1 population-to-provider threshold with the provider-to-population ratio behind an HPSA score. HPSA score lookup
HPSA scores describe shortage severity within HRSA's designation criteria, not the availability of any individual provider. For a specific appointment, contact a provider or your insurer; use HRSA's current tools to verify a designation.
Counties With a Similar Mental Health Shortage Score
Other U.S. counties whose active HRSA mental-health HPSA score is closest to Highlands County's 18.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Hendricks County, IN and Berrien County, MI.
Showing 6 of 3081 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties with a matching designation count to Highlands County's 11
One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 11 - the inventory behind the ~26 FTE published need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Highlands County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Highlands County carries an MUA designation (index 47.9; lower = greater measured need) in addition to its HPSA rows. MUA and HPSA are separate HRSA tracks; both can open different federal pathways.
- Where is the largest clinician FTE gap inside Highlands County?
- Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~26 FTE, with mental health the largest slice (21). "HEARTLAND PEDIATRICS OF LAKE P" is the highest-scored active row (score 18.0; mental health; 83,378 people in the service area; designated 08/18/2019). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
- Which named designations drive Highlands County's FTE reading?
- Active names on this release include "HEARTLAND PEDIATRICS OF LAKE P", "HEARTLAND PEDIATRICS OF LAKE P", "LI-CentralFLBehavioralHealthNetwork-Circuit10-MHCA" and "AVON PARK PEDIATRICS INC". Discipline counts: 4 primary care, 4 mental health, 3 dental across 11 designated rows.
- Do Highlands County's FTE gaps unlock federal programs?
- Yes where an ACTIVE designation exists, NHSC, CHC grants, Medicare bonus and J-1 waivers follow the designated geography and provider type. A published FTE gap without an active row does not, by itself, open those pathways.
- How does Highlands County's FTE burden compare inside FL?
- 11 active designations and ~26 FTE published need. Highlands County falls in the upper half of FL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 22 of 67. Score-nearest counties on this release include Hendricks County, IN and Berrien County, MI.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 12055. 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 12055 (Highlands County, FL), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 11; peak score 18.0; signature 26 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.