Location Eligibility

Rural Designation

Rural Health Clinics must be located in rural areas with current health care shortage designations.

Any area that is not in a U.S. Census-designated "urbanized area" is considered rural. To see if your location is in a rural area you can use the to Rural Health Information Hub's Am I Rural? tool.

Eligible clinics must be in a rural area designated or updated within the last four years by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.

Health Professional Shortage Areas

There are four types of shortage areas that qualify:

  • Geographic-Based Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA)
  • Population-based HPSA
  • Medically Underserved Area (MUAs)
  • Governor Designated medically underserved area

To see if your location is in a federally designated Health Professional Shortage Area or Governor-Designated medically Underserved Area, view the following documents:

If you'd like a letter, please email our office.

Rural Health Care Certification

The final determination of eligibility is made by your state agency responsible for RHC certification and the CMS regional office. For information on RHC eligibility, contact KDHE's Bureau of Community Health Systems at 785-296-1200.