Akron Reporter

The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, subsidiary 541GG in Akron, Ohio, scheduled 19,275 pending appointments during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 17,469 had a wait time of 30 days or less (90.6%) and 1,806 appointments (9.4%) 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	52,123	46,522	5,601
541GL	Parma	21,318	18,801	2,517
541GG	Akron	19,275	17,469	1,806
541BY	Canton	11,984	11,475	509
541BZ	Youngstown	10,906	10,097	809
541GD	Mansfield	10,221	10,036	185
541GB	Lorain	10,089	9,587	502
541GF	Willoughby	7,853	7,404	449
541GC	Sandusky	6,224	5,555	669
541GI	Warren	4,466	4,206	260
541GH	East Liverpool	3,864	3,759	105
541GJ	New Philadelphia	3,748	3,588	160
541GK	Ravenna	3,571	3,434	137
541QB	Cleveland	420	416	4
541QF	Cuyahoga County 4	229	177	52
541GM	Cleveland	79	70	9

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration