Akron Reporter

The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, subsidiary 541GG in Akron, Ohio, scheduled 16,085 pending appointments during the period ending July 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 13,633 had a wait time of 30 days or less (84.8%) and 2,452 appointments (15.2%) 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 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	42,757	39,108	3,649
541GL	Parma	19,823	17,435	2,388
541GG	Akron	16,085	13,633	2,452
541BY	Canton	12,318	11,830	488
541GB	Lorain	9,613	9,264	349
541BZ	Youngstown	9,605	9,319	286
541GD	Mansfield	9,050	8,995	55
541GF	Willoughby	8,788	8,295	493
541GC	Sandusky	5,916	4,865	1,051
541GJ	New Philadelphia	4,130	3,849	281
541GH	East Liverpool	4,059	3,700	359
541GK	Ravenna	3,293	3,169	124
541GI	Warren	2,425	2,331	94
541QB	Cleveland	1,286	1,283	3
541QF	Cuyahoga County 4	246	108	138
541GE	Cleveland	1	0	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration