Akron Reporter

The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Cleveland Ohio scheduled 199,187 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending January 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 189,615 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.19%) and 9,572 appointments (4.81%) 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.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 cautioning 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.

Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

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 don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Cleveland, OH (Louis Stokes Cleveland)	62,272	58,437	3,835
Canton, OH	16,267	15,737	530
Youngstown, OH	11,614	11,215	399
Lorain, OH	10,914	10,740	174
Sandusky, OH	7,376	7,132	244
Mansfield, OH (David F. Winder)	12,988	12,723	265
McCafferty, OH	1,337	1,304	33
Lake County, OH	11,020	10,681	339
Akron, OH	19,395	18,292	1,103
East Liverpool, OH	4,529	4,463	66
Warren, OH	4,154	3,990	164
New Philadelphia, OH	4,776	4,692	84
Ravenna, OH	5,390	5,100	290
Parma, OH	25,509	23,591	1,918
Cleveland Superior Avenue, OH	34	26	8
Summit County, OH	19	19	0
Cleveland Euclid Avenue, OH	864	858	6
Cuyahoga County 4, OH - Mobile	362	301	61