Akron Reporter

The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, subsidiary 541GG in Akron, Ohio, scheduled 21,888 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 20,421 had a wait time of 30 days or less (93.3%) and 1,467 appointments (6.7%) 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.

However, the Government Accountability Office released a report in July 2019 cautinging 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 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	56,432	51,573	4,859
541GL	Parma	23,147	21,239	1,908
541GG	Akron	21,888	20,421	1,467
541BZ	Youngstown	12,512	11,738	774
541BY	Canton	12,381	11,372	1,009
541GB	Lorain	9,909	9,609	300
541GD	Mansfield	9,681	9,378	303
541GF	Willoughby	8,702	8,298	404
541GC	Sandusky	6,829	6,257	572
541GI	Warren	4,012	3,900	112
541GJ	New Philadelphia	3,940	3,758	182
541GH	East Liverpool	3,872	3,810	62
541GK	Ravenna	3,749	3,598	151
541QB	Cleveland	1,149	1,145	4
541QF	Cuyahoga County 4	248	209	39
541GM	Cleveland	47	43	4

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration