Sumter Times

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System Florida scheduled 180,120 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending June 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 170,607 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94.72%) and 9,513 appointments (5.28%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported wait times for new appointments at VA health care facilities were similar to or better than wait times at private-sector providers between 2014 and 2017.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 cautioning the VA’s data-tracking system only captures part of the appointment process and fails to account for the time that it takes the VA to enroll veterans in its health benefits program.

Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to one of eight priority groups, with those who need immediate care due to service-related disabilities placed in higher priority groups. Veterans who don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Gainesville, FL (Malcom Randall)	41,473	38,089	3,384
Lake City, FL	11,372	10,530	842
Jacksonville 1, FL	29,005	26,694	2,311
Valdosta, GA	3,816	3,798	18
Ocala, FL	8,392	8,248	144
Saint Augustine, FL	6,457	6,379	78
Tallahassee, FL (Sergeant Ernest I. "Boots" Thomas)	15,952	15,526	426
Lecanto, FL	1	1	0
The Villages, FL	18,431	17,711	720
St. Marys, GA	3,077	3,017	60
Marianna, FL	2,319	2,314	5
Palatka, FL	2,734	2,723	11
Waycross, GA	2,754	2,726	28
Perry, FL	413	413	0
Gainesville 1-16th Street, FL	71	71	0
Gainesville 2-98th Street, FL	512	465	47
Gainesville 3-64th Street (C), FL	292	70	222
Gainesville 4-64th Street (O), FL	3,864	3,739	125
Gainesville 5-64th Street (D), FL	2,557	2,510	47
Gainesville 6-23rd Avenue, FL	4	0	4
Jacksonville Southpoint, FL	11,247	10,827	420
Ocala West, FL	2,728	2,654	74
Jacksonville 2, FL	9,358	8,833	525
Lake City Commerce Drive, FL	3,291	3,269	22