Akron Reporter

The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, subsidiary 541GG in Akron, Ohio scheduled 18,011 pending appointments during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 16,820 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.4%) and 1,191 appointments (6.6%) 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.

Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center Appointments Scheduled in August

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
541	Cleveland	64,966	62,235	2,731
541GL	Parma	26,033	24,029	2,004
541GG	Akron	18,011	16,820	1,191
541BY	Canton	17,123	16,260	863
541GD	Mansfield	13,283	13,085	198
541BZ	Youngstown	11,946	11,585	361
541GF	Willoughby	11,065	10,768	297
541GB	Lorain	10,765	10,539	226
541GC	Sandusky	7,533	7,301	232
541GK	Ravenna	5,698	5,395	303
541GJ	New Philadelphia	4,853	4,731	122
541GH	East Liverpool	4,298	4,241	57
541GI	Warren	3,920	3,645	275
541GE	Cleveland	1,245	1,221	24
541QB	Cleveland	1,050	1,044	6
541QF	Cuyahoga County 4	388	336	52
541GM	Cleveland	32	31	1
541QA	Summit County	5	5	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration