Akron Reporter

The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, subsidiary 541GG in Akron, Ohio scheduled 17,633 pending appointments during the period ending April 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 15,947 had a wait time of 30 days or less (90.4%) and 1,686 appointments (9.6%) 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.

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
541	Cleveland	46,896	43,458	3,438
541GL	Parma	22,453	20,135	2,318
541GG	Akron	17,633	15,947	1,686
541BY	Canton	14,147	13,647	500
541GD	Mansfield	11,125	10,978	147
541BZ	Youngstown	10,499	10,145	354
541GF	Willoughby	10,062	9,617	445
541GB	Lorain	9,740	9,517	223
541GC	Sandusky	6,774	6,253	521
541GJ	New Philadelphia	4,545	4,341	204
541GH	East Liverpool	4,277	4,047	230
541GK	Ravenna	4,097	3,864	233
541GI	Warren	3,437	3,227	210
541QB	Cleveland	801	795	6
541GE	Cleveland	796	776	20
541QF	Cuyahoga County 4	287	210	77
541GM	Cleveland	1	0	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration