Palm Coast Times

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System, subsidiary 573GL in Palatka, Florida scheduled 3,393 pending appointments during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 3,354 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.9%) and 39 appointments (1.2%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

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	59,327	55,012	4,315
573BY	Jacksonville	42,833	37,616	5,217
573GI	The Villages	31,064	29,503	1,561
573GF	Tallahassee	26,752	25,574	1,178
573A4	Lake City	18,246	17,036	1,210
573QG	Jacksonville Southpoint	14,407	13,479	928
573QJ	Jacksonville	11,452	10,859	593
573GD	Ocala	9,901	9,622	279
573GE	Saint Augustine	9,326	8,833	493
573QD	Gainesville	6,977	6,809	168
573GA	Valdosta	5,120	5,020	100
573QH	Ocala	5,108	4,670	438
573QE	Gainesville	4,921	4,588	333
573GJ	St. Marys	4,001	3,864	137
573QK	Lake City	3,963	3,956	7
573GL	Palatka	3,393	3,354	39
573GM	Waycross	3,221	3,166	55
573GK	Marianna	3,108	3,093	15
573QC	Gainesville	1,793	996	797
573QB	Gainesville 2-98th Street	1,156	1,088	68
573GN	Perry	601	600	1
573QA	Gainesville 1-16th Street	80	80	0
573QF	Gainesville	30	30	0
573GG	Lecanto	4	4	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration