Medically Underserved Area Designated · below priority line

WA · Healthcare shortage profile

Clark County, WA

The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Clark County's active designations would take about 58 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Population 503,311.

Active HPSAs
6
Population
503,311
Peak shortage score
15.0
MUA Index
62.3
WA state overview → About this data

Mid-burden verdict

According to current HRSA Data Warehouse records, Clark County holds a moderate federal shortage burden - 6 active HPSA designations, more than 54% of the 3,289 real US counties, with primary care the deepest gap.

6
Active HPSA designations
2
Primary-care shortages
15
Peak severity score (of 26)
Top 46%
US counties by volume

Dense ZCTA lattice over Clark County

Clark County intersects 20 Census ZCTAs, above the 15-ZIP dense-tercile cut. Shortage designations still attach at the county (or smaller HPSA) grain; the ZIP list is geography, not a second severity score.

Largest land-share ZCTAs in this county

8 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.

Key findings

What the HRSA Data Warehouse does not surface for Clark County, WA 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.

  1. Closing Clark County's active designations would take about 58 additional clinician FTEs, with primary care the largest gap.

    HRSA providers_needed summed once per HPSA id (no double-count across status rows): 39 primary care, 6.5 mental health, 12 dental. This is the federal gap estimate, not a headcount of practising clinicians.

  2. 33.3% of Clark County's 6 active designations are primary care.

    Discipline mix from designated HPSA records only: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental (denominator 6).

  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, Clark County carries 6 active designations, above 54% 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. Clark County falls in the lower half of WA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 28 of 39. 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: 53011. Population: 503,311.

Below high-priority line

Clark County is designated, but no active score clears 17

6 active designations sit on this FIPS (2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental), and the peak severity is 15.0. 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

MUA Designated
MUA Index: 62.3

Active HPSA scores

Primary Care 15.0
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 6 active (designated) HPSAs in Clark County, ranked by HRSA shortage score.

Name Type Score
LI-Vancouver primary_care 15.0
North Clark County mental_health 15.0
LI - SW Clark County mental_health 15.0
LI-Vancouver dental 13.0
North Clark County primary_care 12.0
North Clark County dental 11.0

Moderate-burden reading for Clark County

The clinician FTE gap is the sharpest number here: closing Clark County's active designations would take about 58 additional FTEs on HRSA's providers_needed estimate. Clark County's shortage runs equally deep in primary care and mental health: both scored 15.0 by HRSA, still short of the 17-point priority line, though the designation itself is formal. Dental care reads 13.0 of 26. The county also sits inside a Medically Underserved Area, indexed at 62.3, and the lower the index, the greater the measured need.

Clark County sits in the middle of the national designation-volume distribution (above 54% of counties) with 6 active records. That is enough for a formal shortage footprint without landing in the heaviest US tier. Compare the three discipline counts (2/2/2) before assuming every care category is equally short.

Clark County falls in the lower half of WA counties by active-designation volume, at rank 28 of 39. 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 Clark County

Signature reading: HRSA providers_needed sums to about 58 FTE across Clark County's active designations (once per HPSA id), a federal gap estimate, not practising headcount.

Counties with a matching designation count to Clark County's 6

One peer set for this FTE-led county: nearest active designation count to 6 - the inventory behind the ~58 FTE published need.

Contra Costa County, CA

6 active designations

Macomb County, MI

6 active designations

Baltimore County, MD

6 active designations

Lee County, FL

6 active designations

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Clark County's MUA standing sit beside its HPSA records?
Yes - Clark County carries an MUA designation (index 62.3; 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 Clark County?
Id-de-duped providers_needed across active HPSAs totals ~58 FTE, with primary care the largest slice (39). "LI-Vancouver" is the highest-scored active row (score 15.0; primary care; 14,696 people in the service area; ~14 FTE still needed on the record; designated 03/26/2026). This is HRSA's published gap, not a headcount of practising clinicians.
Which named designations drive Clark County's FTE reading?
Active names on this release include "LI-Vancouver", "North Clark County", "LI - SW Clark County" and "LI-Vancouver". Discipline counts: 2 primary care, 2 mental health, 2 dental across 6 designated rows.
Do Clark 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: 53011. 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 53011 (Clark County, WA), vintage 2026-08-15. Active designation count 6; peak score 15.0; signature 58 FTE gap. This profile is reference material, not professional advice; see methodology.