East Panhandle News

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System Florida scheduled 214,233 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 199,577 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.16%) and 14,656 appointments (6.84%) 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)	50,965	45,718	5,247
Lake City, FL	13,705	12,390	1,315
Jacksonville 1, FL	33,570	30,455	3,115
Valdosta, GA	4,597	4,545	52
Ocala, FL	8,386	8,246	140
Saint Augustine, FL	8,268	8,059	209
Tallahassee, FL (Sergeant Ernest I. "Boots" Thomas)	20,822	19,362	1,460
The Villages, FL	24,970	24,029	941
St. Marys, GA	3,091	3,002	89
Marianna, FL	2,213	2,191	22
Palatka, FL	2,646	2,630	16
Waycross, GA	2,700	2,680	20
Perry, FL	575	575	0
Gainesville 1-16th Street, FL	53	53	0
Gainesville 2-98th Street, FL	889	821	68
Gainesville 3-64th Street (C), FL	101	90	11
Gainesville 4-64th Street (O), FL	4,915	4,708	207
Gainesville 5-64th Street (D), FL	3,919	3,677	242
Gainesville 6-23rd Avenue, FL	13	12	1
Jacksonville Southpoint, FL	10,282	9,550	732
Ocala West, FL	2,653	2,648	5
Jacksonville 2, FL	7,529	6,906	623
Lake City Commerce Drive, FL	4,247	4,223	24