County health data
Dent County, MO
CDC PLACES estimates diabetes at 14.6% of adults in Dent County (Missouri: 12.3%). This county has 12 HRSA shortage designations, 1 hospital, and 2 health center sites.
License. US government work, Public Domain Mark 1.0.
For help with food, housing, utilities, or rides in Dent County, call 211 or visit 211.org.
Health measures compared with the state
40 measures for adults in Dent County (about 11,351 adults). 24 have a Missouri figure from the same survey.
Largest differences from the Missouri figure: no leisure-time physical activity 34.1% vs 28.1% (+6.0 points), high blood pressure 41.7% vs 36.2% (+5.5 points), and arthritis 34.2% vs 29.1% (+5.1 points).
Health Outcomes
| Measure | Dent County | Missouri | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthritis | 34.2% | 29.1% | 26.3% | 2023 |
| High blood pressure | 41.7% | 36.2% | 34.0% | 2023 |
| Cancer, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer | 10.2% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Current asthma | 10.8% | 9.9% | 10.2% | 2023 |
| Coronary heart disease | 9.2% | 4.6% | 4.0% | 2023 |
| COPD | 11.2% | 8.5% | 6.3% | 2023 |
| Depression | 24.4% | 23.1% | 21.8% | 2023 |
| Diagnosed diabetes | 14.6% | 12.3% | 11.8% | 2023 |
| High cholesterol, adults ever screened | 40.1% | 38.5% | 37.2% | 2023 |
| Obesity | 39.5% | 35.3% | 34.4% | 2023 |
| Stroke | 4.7% | 4.5% | 3.3% | 2023 |
| All teeth lost, ages 65 and older | 22.0% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Prevention
| Measure | Dent County | Missouri | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, ages 18 to 64 | 9.8% | 8.6% | 9.3% | 2023 |
| Taking blood pressure medicine, adults with high blood pressure | 79.9% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Routine checkup in the past year | 79.4% | 79.1% | 78.4% | 2023 |
| Cholesterol screening | 84.2% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Colorectal cancer screening, ages 45 to 75 | 58.3% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Dental visit in the past year | 53.4% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Mammogram, women ages 50 to 74 | 69.7% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Risk Behaviors
| Measure | Dent County | Missouri | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drinking | 14.5% | 16.3% | 15.1% | 2023 |
| Current smoking | 19.9% | 15.3% | 12.1% | 2023 |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 34.1% | 28.1% | 24.5% | 2023 |
| Short sleep | 39.1% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Status
| Measure | Dent County | Missouri | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health | 25.0% | 19.9% | 18.5% | 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress | 17.9% | 16.7% | 15.4% | 2023 |
| Frequent physical distress | 17.3% | 14.0% | 12.6% | 2023 |
Disability
| Measure | Dent County | Missouri | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive disability | 19.1% | 16.8% | 13.7% | 2023 |
| Any disability | 41.7% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Hearing disability | 11.1% | 9.7% | 7.4% | 2023 |
| Independent living disability | 11.2% | 9.5% | 7.8% | 2023 |
| Mobility disability | 20.3% | 16.6% | 13.4% | 2023 |
| Self-care disability | 5.1% | 4.7% | 3.7% | 2023 |
| Vision disability | 6.3% | 5.9% | 5.0% | 2023 |
Health-Related Social Needs
| Measure | Dent County | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Lack of social and emotional support | 19.6% | 2023 |
| Food insecurity in the past year | 15.2% | 2023 |
| Received food stamps in the past year | 13.0% | 2023 |
| Housing insecurity in the past year | 12.0% | 2023 |
| Lack of reliable transportation in the past year | 8.9% | 2023 |
| Loneliness | 29.4% | 2023 |
| Utility shut-off threat in the past year | 9.2% | 2023 |
Source: CDC PLACES county data, as of December 4, 2025. Publisher page
Source: CDC BRFSS prevalence data, as of September 15, 2026. Publisher page
Health professional shortage areas
HRSA lists 12 designated shortage rows in Dent County: primary care 4 (highest score 17), mental health 4 (highest score 17), and dental 4 (highest score 17). 3 cover a geographic area or population group; the other 9 are facility designations.
| Discipline | Area or population | Facility | Highest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| primary care | 1 | 3 | 17 |
| mental health | 1 | 3 | 17 |
| dental | 1 | 3 | 17 |
Area and population designations
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| LI - MHCA 17A/B | mental health | HPSA Population | 17 |
| LI-Dent County | primary care | HPSA Population | 16 |
| LI-Dent County | dental | HPSA Population | 16 |
Facility designations (9)
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| MERCY CLINIC - SALEM | primary care | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| PHELPS HEALTH MEDICAL GROUP SALEM | primary care | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| SMDH FAMILY MEDICINE | primary care | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| MERCY CLINIC - SALEM | mental health | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| PHELPS HEALTH MEDICAL GROUP SALEM | mental health | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| SMDH FAMILY MEDICINE | mental health | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| MERCY CLINIC - SALEM | dental | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| PHELPS HEALTH MEDICAL GROUP SALEM | dental | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| SMDH FAMILY MEDICINE | dental | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
Source: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas, as of October 14, 2026. Publisher page
Hospitals and readmission rates
CMS Care Compare lists 1 acute care or critical access hospital in Dent County, 1 of them critical access. None has a readmission rate CMS rates worse than the national rate.
| Hospital | City | Stars | Heart failure | Pneumonia | COPD | Heart attack | Hip or knee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SALEM MEMORIAL DISTRICT HOSPITALCritical access | SALEM | 4 | 21.7% | 16.9% | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Each rate is the share of patients readmitted within 30 days of discharge, July 2023 to June 2025. "n/a" means CMS did not publish a rate for that hospital.
Source: CMS Care Compare hospital general information, as of August 13, 2026. Publisher page
Source: CMS Care Compare unplanned hospital visits, as of September 30, 2026. Publisher page
Health centers
2 active health center sites in Dent County, run by 1 organization.
| Site ↑ | Health center | Address | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four Rivers Community Health Center - Salem | SOUTH CENTRAL MISSOURI COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER | 703 S Grand St | Salem 65560 |
| Four Rivers Community Health Center Salem | SOUTH CENTRAL MISSOURI COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER | 601 S McArthur St | Salem 65560 |
Source: HRSA health center service delivery and look-alike sites, as of October 14, 2026. Publisher page
Missouri rural health plan
Missouri Transformation of Rural Community Health Care (ToRCH Care) Project
Initiatives, as the state's abstract names them (page 39):
- Regional Coordinating Networks and Hub Activation
- Alternative Payment Models
- Digital backbone
- Rural Health Workforce Programs
- Provider Transformation
CMS says the abstract budgets are illustrative and are not award amounts, so none are shown.
Source: CMS Rural Health Transformation Program state project abstracts, as of December 2025. Publisher page
For health centers, health departments, and nonprofits
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Neighboring counties
Medicare plans in Dent County, MO
About this data
County rates are CDC PLACES model-based estimates of adults, built from the CDC BRFSS survey and Census population data. State and US figures are BRFSS survey results for the same year. They are not averages of counties, and small differences may not be meaningful.
Shortage rows are HRSA designations with status Designated. Scores run from 0 to 25 (0 to 26 for dental); a higher score means greater need. Hospitals are acute care and critical access hospitals CMS lists in the county, with 30-day rates of unplanned readmission. Health centers are active HRSA-funded and look-alike sites.
Rural health plan initiatives are copied as the state wrote them. Nothing here is medical advice.
Source: CDC PLACES county data, as of December 4, 2025. Publisher page
Source: CDC BRFSS prevalence data, as of September 15, 2026. Publisher page
Source: HRSA Health Professional Shortage Areas, as of October 14, 2026. Publisher page