County health data
Pulaski County, MO
CDC PLACES estimates diabetes at 8.6% of adults in Pulaski County (Missouri: 12.3%). This county has 15 HRSA shortage designations, 1 hospital, and 10 health center sites.
License. US government work, Public Domain Mark 1.0.
For help with food, housing, utilities, or rides in Pulaski County, call 211 or visit 211.org.
Health measures compared with the state
40 measures for adults in Pulaski County (about 42,066 adults). 24 have a Missouri figure from the same survey.
Largest differences from the Missouri figure: high cholesterol, adults ever screened 29.8% vs 38.5% (-8.7 points), arthritis 20.8% vs 29.1% (-8.3 points), and high blood pressure 28.5% vs 36.2% (-7.7 points).
Health Outcomes
| Measure | Pulaski County | Missouri | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthritis | 20.8% | 29.1% | 26.3% | 2023 |
| High blood pressure | 28.5% | 36.2% | 34.0% | 2023 |
| Cancer, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer | 5.4% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Current asthma | 10.1% | 9.9% | 10.2% | 2023 |
| Coronary heart disease | 4.5% | 4.6% | 4.0% | 2023 |
| COPD | 5.8% | 8.5% | 6.3% | 2023 |
| Depression | 24.6% | 23.1% | 21.8% | 2023 |
| Diagnosed diabetes | 8.6% | 12.3% | 11.8% | 2023 |
| High cholesterol, adults ever screened | 29.8% | 38.5% | 37.2% | 2023 |
| Obesity | 35.8% | 35.3% | 34.4% | 2023 |
| Stroke | 2.5% | 4.5% | 3.3% | 2023 |
| All teeth lost, ages 65 and older | 17.0% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Prevention
| Measure | Pulaski County | Missouri | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, ages 18 to 64 | 10.6% | 8.6% | 9.3% | 2023 |
| Taking blood pressure medicine, adults with high blood pressure | 67.9% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Routine checkup in the past year | 74.0% | 79.1% | 78.4% | 2023 |
| Cholesterol screening | 77.4% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Colorectal cancer screening, ages 45 to 75 | 61.1% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Dental visit in the past year | 57.1% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
| Mammogram, women ages 50 to 74 | 73.3% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Risk Behaviors
| Measure | Pulaski County | Missouri | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drinking | 19.1% | 16.3% | 15.1% | 2023 |
| Current smoking | 15.0% | 15.3% | 12.1% | 2023 |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 26.6% | 28.1% | 24.5% | 2023 |
| Short sleep | 42.7% | n/a | n/a | 2022 |
Health Status
| Measure | Pulaski County | Missouri | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health | 18.8% | 19.9% | 18.5% | 2023 |
| Frequent mental distress | 19.1% | 16.7% | 15.4% | 2023 |
| Frequent physical distress | 12.3% | 14.0% | 12.6% | 2023 |
Disability
| Measure | Pulaski County | Missouri | US | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognitive disability | 19.0% | 16.8% | 13.7% | 2023 |
| Any disability | 34.2% | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
| Hearing disability | 6.2% | 9.7% | 7.4% | 2023 |
| Independent living disability | 8.7% | 9.5% | 7.8% | 2023 |
| Mobility disability | 11.4% | 16.6% | 13.4% | 2023 |
| Self-care disability | 3.0% | 4.7% | 3.7% | 2023 |
| Vision disability | 4.5% | 5.9% | 5.0% | 2023 |
Health-Related Social Needs
| Measure | Pulaski County | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Lack of social and emotional support | 21.8% | 2023 |
| Food insecurity in the past year | 15.3% | 2023 |
| Received food stamps in the past year | 10.9% | 2023 |
| Housing insecurity in the past year | 13.6% | 2023 |
| Lack of reliable transportation in the past year | 9.7% | 2023 |
| Loneliness | 34.2% | 2023 |
| Utility shut-off threat in the past year | 9.5% | 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 15 designated shortage rows in Pulaski County: primary care 5 (highest score 21), mental health 5 (highest score 22), and dental 5 (highest score 25). 3 cover a geographic area or population group; the other 12 are facility designations.
| Discipline | Area or population | Facility | Highest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| primary care | 1 | 4 | 21 |
| mental health | 1 | 4 | 22 |
| dental | 1 | 4 | 25 |
Area and population designations
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| LI-Pulaski County | primary care | HPSA Population | 16 |
| LI - MHCA 11 Cole Catchment Area | mental health | HPSA Population | 16 |
| LI - Pulaski County | dental | HPSA Population | 15 |
Facility designations (12)
| Designation | Discipline | Type | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| RICHLAND MEDICAL CENTER INC. | dental | Federally Qualified Health Center | 25 |
| RICHLAND MEDICAL CENTER INC. | mental health | Federally Qualified Health Center | 22 |
| RICHLAND MEDICAL CENTER INC. | primary care | Federally Qualified Health Center | 21 |
| MERCY CLINIC FAMILY MEDICINE ST ROBERT | mental health | Rural Health Clinic | 18 |
| MERCY CLINIC FAMILY MEDICINE ST ROBERT | primary care | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| MERCY CLINIC RICHLAND | primary care | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| PHELPS HEALTH MEDICAL GROUP WAYNESVILLE | primary care | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| MERCY CLINIC RICHLAND | mental health | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| PHELPS HEALTH MEDICAL GROUP WAYNESVILLE | mental health | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| MERCY CLINIC FAMILY MEDICINE ST ROBERT | dental | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| MERCY CLINIC RICHLAND | dental | Rural Health Clinic | 17 |
| PHELPS HEALTH MEDICAL GROUP WAYNESVILLE | 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 Pulaski County. None has a readmission rate CMS rates worse than the national rate.
| Hospital | City | Stars | Heart failure | Pneumonia | COPD | Heart attack | Hip or knee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Leonard Wood ACH (FT Leonard Wood) | Fort Leonard Wood | n/a | n/a | n/a | 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
10 active health center sites in Pulaski County, run by 2 organizations.
| Site ↑ | Health center | Address | City |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Ozarks Medical Center | RICHLAND MEDICAL CENTER INC. | 304 W Washington Ave | Richland 65556 |
| Central Ozarks Medical Center - Crocker | RICHLAND MEDICAL CENTER INC. | 101 12th St | Crocker 65452 |
| COMC Administration and Behavioral Health | RICHLAND MEDICAL CENTER INC. | 112 E McClurg Ave | Richland 65556 |
| COMC Laquey School Site | RICHLAND MEDICAL CENTER INC. | 27600 Highway AA | Laquey 65534 |
| COMC Mobile Dental Clinic | RICHLAND MEDICAL CENTER INC. | 304 W Washington Ave | Richland 65556 |
| COMC Mobile Medical Clinic | RICHLAND MEDICAL CENTER INC. | 304 W Washington Ave | Richland 65556 |
| COMC Richland School Clinic | RICHLAND MEDICAL CENTER INC. | 714 E Jefferson Ave | Richland 65556 |
| COMC Waynesville School Site | RICHLAND MEDICAL CENTER INC. | 200 Fleetwood Dr | Waynesville 65583 |
| Four Rivers Community Health Center St Robert | SOUTH CENTRAL MISSOURI COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER | 165 Park Dr | Saint Robert 65584 |
| Mobile Vision Unit | RICHLAND MEDICAL CENTER INC. | 304 W Washington Ave | Richland 65556 |
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
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Neighboring counties
Medicare plans in Pulaski 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