A Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designation is assigned by the federal government to allocate resources to meet local needs for certain health care providers and can be used by health care facilities to establish a need for additional health care professionals. This need is evaluated based on a complex set of statistical criteria as well as both population demographics and geographic factors. The process is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Shortage Designation Branch. A HPSA is designated as having a critical shortage of either primary care, dental or mental health providers. Each type of HPSA is further classified as being a specific geographic area, a specific population group, or in some cases, a specific facility.

Since 2010, the Primary Care Office (PCO) worked to expand the areas covered by Primary Care, Mental/Behavioral Health, and Dental Care HPSAs. The increase in areas covered by a HPSA has resulted in an increase of Obligated Health Professionals (OHPs) working in a HPSA and more physicians receiving bonuses through the Federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) for accepting Medicaid patients. The Shortage Designation Process is in alignment with the PCO's commitment to work toward increasing primary healthcare access and services, and to proactively build community health systems' capacity to provide comprehensive integrated primary, dental, and mental health services.

These data are current as of March 2023.

• Connecticut Department of Public Health
• Community Health Center Association of Connecticut
• Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
• Connecticut Department of Social Services
• Connecticut Office of Rural Health
• Office of Healthcare Strategy
• Local public health agencies
• Municipal government
• Health care providers
• Health professional associations
• Other organizations and coalitions focused on access to health services, community service organizations serving specific populations (children, older adults, underserved populations), faith-based organizations.
• Area Health Education Centers - assist with recruitment and retention of critical healthcare providers

Supporting outreach and education that encourages participation in the NHSC which include distributing program information, speaking about the BCRS programs at health professions universities in Connecticut (University of Connecticut, Quinnipiac University, and Yale University), and distributing program materials at public events (i.e. career/health fairs).

The CT PCO is committed to coordinating and collaborating with other state agencies and state recruitment efforts to incorporate resources including NHSC Scholars, Loan Repayors, and/or other scholar and loan repayment programs into the State’s strategy to increase the number of health professionals serving in HPSAs.

Through the Federal Cooperative Agreement, the PCO will continue to coordinate the expansion of areas covered by a HPSA, provide technical assistance and collaboration that seeks to expand access to primary medical care, collaborate in health center planning and development, and collaborate with other HRSA partners and organizations to support access to primary care services.