AR · Healthcare shortage profile
Hot Spring County, AR
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Hot Spring County's active designations would take about 21 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 33,040.
- Active HPSAs
- 9
- Population
- 33,040
- Peak shortage score
- 18.0
- MUA Index
- 52.0
Heavy-burden verdict
According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Hot Spring County carries a heavier shortage burden than most US counties - 9 active HPSA designations, more than 75% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.
- 9
- Active HPSA designations
- 3
- Mental-health shortages
- 18
- Peak severity score (of 26)
- Top 25%
- US counties by volume
Key findings
What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Hot Spring County, AR 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 Hot Spring County's active designations would take about 21 additional clinician FTEs, with mental health the largest gap.
HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 4.5 primary care, 8.6 mental health, 7.6 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
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33.3% of Hot Spring County's 9 active designations are primary care.
Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 3 primary care, 3 mental health, 3 dental (denominator 9).
Hot Spring County's mid-pack ZIP footprint
13 Census ZCTAs intersect Hot Spring 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
5 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.
Hot Spring County vs. every real US county
Total active HPSA designations, including counties with none
9 Top 25% higher than 75% 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. Hot Spring County falls in the upper quarter of AR counties by active-designation volume, at rank 5 of 75. Ties share a rank; the comparison uses the same current designated records as the national chart.
Healthcare shortage designations from HRSA. FIPS: 05059. Population: 33,040.
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 9 active (designated) HPSAs in Hot Spring County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.
| Name | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Mhca Hot Spring | mental_health | 18.0 |
| Access Medical Clinic Arkansas LLC | dental | 17.0 |
| Low Income - Hot Spring County | primary_care | 15.0 |
| LI - Hot Spring County | dental | 15.0 |
| Access Medical Clinic Arkansas LLC | primary_care | 14.0 |
| Access Medical Clinic Arkansas LLC | mental_health | 13.0 |
| CF-Ouachita River Unit | mental_health | 12.0 |
| CF Ouachita River | dental | 6.0 |
| CF Ouachita River | primary_care | 3.0 |
Heavy-burden reading for Hot Spring County
The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Hot Spring County's active designations would take about 21 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Hot Spring County's severest measured gap is in mental health, scored 18.0 of 25, past the 17-point line HRSA uses to open National Health Service Corps placement and enhanced Medicare reimbursement. Primary care reads 15.0 of 25; Dental care reads 17.0 of 26. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 52.0, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.
Volume places Hot Spring County above 75% of real US counties (9 active designations: 3 primary care, 3 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.
Hot Spring County falls in the upper quarter of AR counties by active-designation volume, at rank 5 of 75. 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.
Hot Spring 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
3 designations
- Dental
Dental
3 designations
Heavy-volume FTE gap in Hot Spring County
Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 21 FTE across Hot Spring 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 Hot Spring County, AR · 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
Hot Spring County's shortage designations unlock specific federal programs and comparisons, here is how to act on them.
- Hot Spring County's 9 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 AR before you draw conclusions from a single score. AR 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 Hot Spring County's 18.0. This compares the designation score only, not local appointment availability or care quality. Start with Caguas County, PR and Cuyahoga County, OH.
Showing 6 of 3081 counties nationally with an active designation this severe.
Counties with a matching designation count to Hot Spring County's 9
One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 9 - the inventory behind the ~21 FTE published need.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Hot Spring County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
- Yes - Hot Spring County carries an MUA designation (index 52.0; 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 Hot Spring County?
- Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~21 FTE, with mental health the largest slice (8.6). "MHCA Hot Spring" is the highest-scored active row (score 18.0; mental health; 16,000 people in the service area; ~3.6 FTE still needed on the record; designated 04/04/2017). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
- Which named designations drive Hot Spring County's FTE reading?
- Active names on this release include "MHCA Hot Spring", "ACCESS MEDICAL CLINIC ARKANSAS LLC", "Low Income - Hot Spring County" and "LI - Hot Spring County". Discipline counts: 3 primary care, 3 mental health, 3 dental across 9 designated rows.
- Do Hot Spring 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 Hot Spring County's FTE burden compare inside AR?
- 9 active designations and ~21 FTE published need. Hot Spring County falls in the upper quarter of AR counties by active-designation volume, at rank 5 of 75. Score-nearest counties on this release include Caguas County, PR and Cuyahoga County, OH.
Source: HRSA Data Warehouse. FIPS: 05059. 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 05059 (Hot Spring County, AR), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 9; peak score 18.0; signature 21 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.