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Health Professional Shortage Areas and Medically Underserved Areas

Activity Digest (PDF, 398 KB)- Recent Approvals	What is a Shortage Area and Underserved Area?
Am I located in a Designated Shortage Area?	Designation Benefits
Want More Information?

 

Provider Surveys

Primary Care Provider Survey Primary Care Survey (online survey ) Primary Care Survey (PDF version 63 KB) Primary Care Survey Guide (55KB, PDF)	Dental Provider Survey Dental Provider Survey (online survey ) Dental Provider Survey (PDF version 62 KB) Dental Provider Survey Guide (59KB, PDF)
Mental Health Provider Survey Mental Health Provider Survey (PDF version 51 KB) Mental Health Provider Survey Guide (PDF version 49 KB)	Survey Results See the Summary Reports web page.
For additional questions about the provider surveys contact: Phi Ly Research Analyst Telephone: 360-236-2825 Email: Phi.Ly@doh.wa.gov

Am I located in a Designated Shortage Area?

We maintain a current 10 page table (PDF, 267KB) of all designations. Be certain that you have the page for the type of designation you are looking for. You can also view shortage area maps on the Health Care Infrastructure Mapping Website. We define partial-county designations using the 2000 census tract boundaries. The table column titled "Geographic Units" lists designated census tracts. We suggest that you use either the federal geo-coding system HRSA - Find Shortage Areas or the Department of Health» s geo-coding website http://ww4.doh.wa.gov/gis/mapping.htm   to determine if a facility is located in a designated census tract.

Washington State Designation Contact Information

Laura Olexa

Health Care Access Analyst

Telephone: 360-236-2811

Email: laura.olexa@doh.wa.gov

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What is a Health Profession Shortage Area and Underserved Area?

There are three shortage area categories: primary care, dental care, and mental health care. The table below shows the types of designations and their requirements. Medically underserved areas are different in that they are only available for primary care.

Designation Type	General Requirements
Geographic	Everyone has difficulty getting healthcare services
Population	Low-income, migrant, or homeless populations have difficulty getting care
Facility	A facility not in a designated area, but who serves residents from a designated shortage area
Federally Recognized Tribe	American Indian and Alaska Native
Correctional Facility	Medium or maximum security facility

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Designation Benefits

There are over 30 federal and state programs that use designations. The table below shows the most popular used in our state. Each one has more requirements. Please follow the links under the program titles to learn more about the program.

Program	Professional Shortage Area	Underserved Designation
Federally Qualified Health Center	Helpful	Required
Rural Health Clinic	Primary Care Required	Required
J-1 Visa Waiver Program	Primary Care Required	Whole County Required
HPSA Medicare Bonus Payments	Geographic Primary Care Required	N/A
National Health Service Corps	Provider specific	N/A
State Loan Repayment and Scholarship	N/A	N/A

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Want more Information?

The Office of Community Health Systems manages designations for Washington State. You can contact Laura Olexa at laura.olexa@doh.wa.gov to obtain more details on designation requirements. The Guide to Federal Health Professional Shortage Areas and Underserved Designations (PDF, 398 KB) discusses the program in more detail.

Washington State Designation Contact Information

Laura Olexa

Health Care Access Analyst

Telephone: 360-236-2811

Email: laura.olexa@doh.wa.gov

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