Palm Coast Times

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System Florida scheduled 192,228 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending August 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 180,602 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.95%) and 11,626 appointments (6.05%) 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)	46,680	42,996	3,684
Lake City, FL	11,493	10,592	901
Jacksonville 1, FL	30,361	28,011	2,350
Valdosta, GA	4,103	4,065	38
Ocala, FL	8,624	8,481	143
Saint Augustine, FL	6,999	6,831	168
Tallahassee, FL (Sergeant Ernest I. "Boots" Thomas)	18,428	17,258	1,170
Lecanto, FL	1	1	0
The Villages, FL	21,074	19,799	1,275
St. Marys, GA	2,746	2,700	46
Marianna, FL	2,055	2,013	42
Palatka, FL	2,605	2,600	5
Waycross, GA	2,739	2,720	19
Perry, FL	456	456	0
Gainesville 1-16th Street, FL	50	50	0
Gainesville 2-98th Street, FL	952	876	76
Gainesville 3-64th Street (C), FL	474	266	208
Gainesville 4-64th Street (O), FL	3,445	3,371	74
Gainesville 5-64th Street (D), FL	3,173	3,064	109
Gainesville 6-23rd Avenue, FL	26	13	13
Jacksonville Southpoint, FL	10,791	10,057	734
Ocala West, FL	2,815	2,803	12
Jacksonville 2, FL	8,662	8,114	548
Lake City Commerce Drive, FL	3,476	3,465	11