FL · Healthcare shortage profile
Hernando County, FL
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Hernando County's active designations would take about 33 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 194,515.
- Active HPSAs
- 5
- Population
- 194,515
- Peak shortage score
- 16.0
- MUA Index
- 47.1
Mid-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Hernando County holds a moderate federal shortage burden - 5 active HPSA designations, more than 47% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 5
- Active HPSA designations
- 2
- Mental-health shortages
- 16
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 53%
- US counties by volume
Based on HRSA primary/mental/dental shortage severity, Medically Underserved Area status, and estimated unmet provider need -- not patient outcomes, insurance access, facility quality, or wait times.
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Hernando 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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Closing Hernando County's active designations would take about 33 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 7.2 primary care, 24 mental health, 1.6 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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40% of Hernando County's 5 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 1 dental (denominator 5).
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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.
Hernando County's mid-pack ZIP footprint
12 Census ZCTAs intersect Hernando 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, Hernando County carries 5 active designations, above 47% 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. Hernando County falls in the lower half of FL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 53 of 67. 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: 12053. Population: 194,515.
Below high-priority line
Hernando County is designated, but no active score clears 17
5 active designations sit on this FIPS (2 primary care, 2 mental health, 1 dental), and the peak severity is 16.0. That is a formal shortage footprint without HRSA's high-priority (≥17) tier, so NHSC placement geography is usually weaker here than on counties whose lead score clears the line.
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 5 active (designated) HPSAs in Hernando County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| LI-Lutheran Services Florida-Circuit 5 Mhca | mental_health | 16.0 |
| CF-Hernando Correctional Institution | primary_care | 12.0 |
| LI-Hernando County | primary_care | 12.0 |
| CF- Hernando Correctional Institution | mental_health | 12.0 |
| Hernando CI | dental | 6.0 |
Moderate-burden reading for Hernando County
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Hernando County's active designations would take about 33 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Hernando County's severest measured gap is in mental health, scored 16.0 of 25, still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. Primary care reads 12.0 of 25; Dental care reads 6.0 of 26. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 47.1, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Hernando County sits in the middle of the national designation-volume distribution (above 47% of counties) with 5 active records. That is enough for a formal shortage footprint without landing in the heaviest US tier. Compare the three discipline counts (2/2/1) before assuming every care category is equally short.
Hernando County falls in the lower half of FL counties by active-designation volume, at rank 53 of 67. For moderate counties, the useful move is usually a state peer check plus the score cards above, not a national superlative claim.
Mid-pack clinician FTE gap for Hernando County
Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 33 FTE across Hernando County's active designations (once per HPSA id), a federal gap estimate, not practising headcount.
Counties with a matching designation count to Hernando County's 5
One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 5 - the inventory behind the ~33 FTE published need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Hernando County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Hernando County carries an MUA designation (index 47.1; 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 Hernando County?
- Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~33 FTE, with mental health the largest slice (24). "LI-Lutheran Services Florida-Circuit 5 MHCA" is the highest-scored active row (score 16.0; mental health; 54,466 people in the service area; ~24 FTE still needed on the record; designated 02/26/2026). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
- Which named designations drive Hernando County's FTE reading?
- Active names on this release include "LI-Lutheran Services Florida-Circuit 5 MHCA", "CF-Hernando Correctional Institution", "LI-Hernando County" and "CF- Hernando Correctional Institution". Discipline counts: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 1 dental across 5 designated rows.
- Do Hernando 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.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 12053. 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 12053 (Hernando County, FL), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 5; peak score 16.0; signature 33 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.