North Panhandle News

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System Florida scheduled 229,743 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 215,228 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.68%) and 14,515 appointments (6.32%) 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)	55,973	51,119	4,854
Lake City, FL	14,848	13,529	1,319
Jacksonville 1, FL	35,969	32,711	3,258
Valdosta, GA	4,796	4,739	57
Ocala, FL	9,345	9,170	175
Saint Augustine, FL	8,753	8,559	194
Tallahassee, FL (Sergeant Ernest I. "Boots" Thomas)	22,235	20,906	1,329
The Villages, FL	27,207	26,171	1,036
St. Marys, GA	3,230	3,157	73
Marianna, FL	2,168	2,127	41
Palatka, FL	2,714	2,698	16
Waycross, GA	2,774	2,755	19
Perry, FL	579	579	0
Gainesville 1-16th Street, FL	76	74	2
Gainesville 2-98th Street, FL	904	863	41
Gainesville 3-64th Street (C), FL	239	224	15
Gainesville 4-64th Street (O), FL	4,967	4,745	222
Gainesville 5-64th Street (D), FL	4,073	3,794	279
Gainesville 6-23rd Avenue, FL	55	36	19
Jacksonville Southpoint, FL	10,399	9,620	779
Ocala West, FL	2,661	2,649	12
Jacksonville 2, FL	7,600	6,999	601
Lake City Commerce Drive, FL	4,469	4,442	27