Sumter Times

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System Florida scheduled 187,720 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending May 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 177,845 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94.74%) and 9,875 appointments (5.26%) 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)	41,784	38,536	3,248
Lake City, FL	11,506	10,655	851
Jacksonville 1, FL	30,263	27,784	2,479
Valdosta, GA	4,022	3,998	24
Ocala, FL	8,724	8,533	191
Saint Augustine, FL	6,991	6,887	104
Tallahassee, FL (Sergeant Ernest I. "Boots" Thomas)	16,730	16,379	351
Lecanto, FL	1	1	0
The Villages, FL	19,314	18,487	827
St. Marys, GA	3,331	3,251	80
Marianna, FL	2,496	2,490	6
Palatka, FL	2,761	2,747	14
Waycross, GA	2,816	2,784	32
Perry, FL	412	412	0
Gainesville 1-16th Street, FL	81	81	0
Gainesville 2-98th Street, FL	330	305	25
Gainesville 3-64th Street (C), FL	340	77	263
Gainesville 4-64th Street (O), FL	4,026	3,910	116
Gainesville 5-64th Street (D), FL	2,900	2,835	65
Jacksonville Southpoint, FL	11,726	11,240	486
Ocala West, FL	2,960	2,916	44
Jacksonville 2, FL	10,734	10,072	662
Lake City Commerce Drive, FL	3,472	3,465	7