Alabama micro-market
Healthcare practice financing in Fort Payne, Alabama
Direct answer
A Fort Payne file is read against 157 local clinicians, 104.5 for every 10,000 of its 15,017 residents, 28 percent of them in physical, occupational, and speech therapy, plus the 0 SBA healthcare approvals worth $0 already recorded in DeKalb County, 32 miles from Rome, GA.
A location page indicates that Practition Finance is taking clients in that market. It does not represent a physical office, storefront, or licensed presence in that city or state. All services are delivered remotely by our US-based team. How a referral works in Alabama, and how many partners see it, is set out on the Alabama page.
- Population: 15,017 residents (10K-25K band)1
- Healthcare providers registered here: 157 across 25 fields2
- Median household income: $48,6233
- Largest provider field: Physical, occupational, and speech therapy: 44 registered providers2
- Medicare-certified providers in town: 2 across 2 categories4
- Nearest metro: Rome, GA, 32 miles1
Fort Payne clinicians, by field
Counted at the town's own addresses: 157 providers, 25 fields, 104.5 clinicians per 10,000 of the 15,017 residents here
| Practice type | Count | Rate per 10,000 residents | Published by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical, occupational, and speech therapy | 44 | 29.3 | NPPES [2] |
| Primary care and family medicine | 24 | 16.0 | NPPES [2] |
| General dentistry | 11 | 7.3 | NPPES [2] |
| Specialty physician groups | 11 | 7.3 | NPPES [2] |
| Optometry and ophthalmology | 10 | 6.7 | NPPES [2] |
| Behavioral and mental health group practices | 9 | 6.0 | NPPES [2] |
| Chiropractic | 6 | 4.0 | NPPES [2] |
| Independent pharmacy | 6 | 4.0 | NPPES [2] |
| DME and HME suppliers | 5 | 3.3 | NPPES [2] |
| Home health | 5 | 3.3 | NPPES [2] |
| Med spa and aesthetics | 4 | 2.7 | NPPES [2] |
| Hospice and palliative | 3 | 2.0 | NPPES [2] |
| Occupational health and drug testing | 3 | 2.0 | NPPES [2] |
| Podiatry | 2 | 1.3 | NPPES [2] |
| Dermatology | 2 | 1.3 | NPPES [2] |
| Clinical research sites | 2 | 1.3 | NPPES [2] |
| Clinical and toxicology labs | 2 | 1.3 | NPPES [2] |
| Urgent care | 1 | 0.7 | NPPES [2] |
| Imaging centers | 1 | 0.7 | NPPES [2] |
| Pain management and interventional | 1 | 0.7 | NPPES [2] |
| Dental specialties | 1 | 0.7 | NPPES [2] |
| NEMT and ambulance | 1 | 0.7 | NPPES [2] |
| Audiology and hearing centers | 1 | 0.7 | NPPES [2] |
| Dialysis and infusion centers | 1 | 0.7 | NPPES [2] |
| Telehealth and virtual clinics | 1 | 0.7 | NPPES [2] |
| Medical equipment suppliers | 6 | CMS [4] | |
| Dialysis facilities | 1 | CMS [4] | |
| Home health agencies | 1 | CMS [4] |
Several of the 44 physical, occupational, and speech therapy enumerations can belong to one practice, so the column counts clinicians rather than businesses or owners
The lending record behind Fort Payne
With 0 healthcare approvals recorded, DeKalb County gives a valuation almost nothing local to lean on
| Measure | Published figure | What sits behind it |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare files approved | 0 | Fiscal year published in the SBA file [5] |
| Dollars behind them | $0 | Sum of approvals to healthcare borrowers [5] |
| Typical approval size | No approvals recorded | Dollars divided by approvals [5] |
| Credit offices operating locally | 51 | Credit intermediation establishments, NAICS 522 [6] |
Reading Fort Payne the way a credit committee does
Density of 104.5 per 10,000 sets the patient draw a projection can claim without an argument. A short county record of 0 approvals usually means more documentation and a lower advance against the same collateral. With $48,623 as the median household income, the payer mix in a projection has to match what Fort Payne households actually spend.
The programs this provider mix points at
- Practice acquisition
- Startup and de novo
- Expansion, relocation, and build-out
- Working capital term loan
- Equipment financing and leasing
Ranked from the 25 fields that actually practice in Fort Payne, weighted toward physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Availability still depends on Alabama and on the funding partner.
The first pages of a Fort Payne file
Drawn from the fields that actually practice here: physical, occupational, and speech therapy, primary care and family medicine, general dentistry
| Field | What the file turns on | The capital event behind most requests |
|---|---|---|
| Physical, occupational, and speech therapy (44) | Visits per case, Referral source concentration, Payer mix and authorization rules | Startup or expansion clinic |
| Primary care and family medicine (24) | Panel size, Value-based contract exposure, Provider productivity | Acquisition |
| General dentistry (11) | Three years of collections history, Hygiene as a share of collections, Overhead ratio and owner add-backs | Acquisition of an established practice |
Column one counts Fort Payne clinicians from the federal file. Columns two and three describe how the field is usually underwritten, and a partner can read a Fort Payne file differently.
Density beside the neighboring Alabama towns
Density is the number that moves an appraisal: 104.5 per 10,000 here
| Market | Population | Clinicians | Density per 10,000 | Distance in miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Payne (current) | 15,017 | 157 | 104.5 | |
| Scottsboro | 15,957 | 200 | 125.3 | 24 |
| Boaz | 10,473 | 92 | 87.8 | 32 |
| Albertville | 23,392 | 156 | 66.7 | 33 |
| Gadsden | 33,086 | 439 | 132.7 | 36 |
| Jacksonville | 14,651 | 62 | 42.3 | 45 |
| Anniston | 21,127 | 408 | 193.1 | 55 |
Distance, income, and the wage floor around Fort Payne
Rome, GA lies 32 miles from Fort Payne, close enough for rent comparables to travel and far enough that patient draw does not. Households here carry $48,623 in median income, and that ceiling decides how much of a treatment plan gets started rather than deferred. Wages here are anchored by the Medicare-certified hospital in town, which is what a staffing line gets measured against. Fort Payne is the DeKalb County seat, so county employment steadies the payer mix.
Other Alabama markets
- Scottsboro 15,957 residents
- Boaz 10,473 residents
- Albertville 23,392 residents
- Gadsden 33,086 residents
- Jacksonville 14,651 residents
- Anniston 21,127 residents
What owners in Fort Payne ask
01How many providers practice in Fort Payne, and in what?
NPPES lists 157 providers at a Fort Payne practice address, 104.5 per 10,000 residents across 25 tracked fields. Physical, occupational, and speech therapy accounts for 44 of them, 28 percent of the total, with primary care and family medicine next at 24. Read that as clinicians: 157 enumerations, not 157 owners.
02Why does DeKalb County show so little SBA activity?
Only 0 healthcare approvals appear for DeKalb County in the published 7(a) and 504 file. Thin volume in DeKalb County is a transaction count, not a verdict on borrowers here. The county still holds 51 credit intermediation establishments.
03Is Fort Payne underwritten as part of Rome, GA?
Rome, GA sits 32 miles away, close enough that appraisers reach into that market for rent and resale comparables while your patient draw stays local. The comparables read Rome, GA; the 15,017 residents set the ceiling a projection can defend.
04What does DeKalb County's shortage designation change?
HRSA designates DeKalb County for primary care, dental, mental health. That opens loan repayment programs for clinicians recruited into Fort Payne and evidences a staffing ramp in a 15,017 resident market.
05How does the hospital in Fort Payne affect a practice file?
Referral flow, coverage, and the local pay scale all trace back to it. The town carries 2 Medicare-certified providers in total. A Fort Payne projection that names the call arrangement reads better than one that assumes it.
06What does a $48,623 median income mean for case acceptance?
Median household income in Fort Payne runs $48,623. On elective and cash-pay work that is the number a funder converts into case acceptance, and it sets how much of a treatment plan a projection can assume gets started rather than deferred.
Sources
- 1U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates, vintage 2024
- 2CMS NPPES, monthly full replacement file
- 3U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year 2023, table B19013
- 4CMS Care Compare provider datasets
- 5U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 approvals
- 6U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022
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