East Panhandle News

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System, subsidiary 573GN in Perry, Florida scheduled 453 pending appointments during the period ending May 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 453 had a wait time of 30 days or less.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported that 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 that cautioned that 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.

The VA explains on its website that 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 do not have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
573	Gainesville	42,535	39,199	3,336
573BY	Jacksonville	30,902	28,192	2,710
573GI	The Villages	20,943	20,187	756
573GF	Tallahassee	18,281	17,725	556
573A4	Lake City	11,744	10,847	897
573QG	Jacksonville Southpoint	11,666	11,086	580
573QJ	Jacksonville	10,837	10,188	649
573GD	Ocala	8,948	8,721	227
573GE	Saint Augustine	7,403	7,284	119
573QD	Gainesville	4,458	4,329	129
573GA	Valdosta	4,386	4,354	32
573QK	Lake City	3,608	3,601	7
573GJ	St. Marys	3,468	3,385	83
573QH	Ocala	3,262	3,143	119
573QE	Gainesville	3,108	3,036	72
573GM	Waycross	2,833	2,803	30
573GL	Palatka	2,832	2,823	9
573GK	Marianna	2,674	2,667	7
573GN	Perry	453	453	0
573QC	Gainesville	386	80	306
573QB	Gainesville 2-98th Street	381	353	28
573QA	Gainesville 1-16th Street	88	88	0
573QF	Gainesville	10	2	8
573GG	Lecanto	1	1	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration