North Panhandle News

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System Florida scheduled 195,409 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 182,394 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.34%) and 13,015 appointments (6.66%) 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)	46,495	42,460	4,035
Lake City, FL	11,382	10,420	962
Jacksonville 1, FL	30,891	28,311	2,580
Valdosta, GA	4,216	4,174	42
Ocala, FL	8,440	8,286	154
Saint Augustine, FL	6,963	6,776	187
Tallahassee, FL (Sergeant Ernest I. "Boots" Thomas)	19,096	17,305	1,791
The Villages, FL	22,870	21,714	1,156
St. Marys, GA	2,615	2,547	68
Marianna, FL	1,922	1,885	37
Palatka, FL	2,508	2,485	23
Waycross, GA	2,625	2,602	23
Perry, FL	523	523	0
Gainesville 1-16th Street, FL	58	57	1
Gainesville 2-98th Street, FL	1,013	898	115
Gainesville 3-64th Street (C), FL	138	84	54
Gainesville 4-64th Street (O), FL	4,429	4,133	296
Gainesville 5-64th Street (D), FL	3,533	3,256	277
Gainesville 6-23rd Avenue, FL	15	13	2
Jacksonville Southpoint, FL	10,285	9,682	603
Ocala West, FL	2,765	2,755	10
Jacksonville 2, FL	7,291	6,771	520
Lake City Commerce Drive, FL	3,987	3,966	21