Akron Reporter

The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Cleveland Ohio scheduled 148,931 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending June 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 135,953 had a wait time of 30 days or less (91.29%) and 12,978 appointments (8.71%) 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)	40,688	37,215	3,473
Canton, OH	12,595	12,158	437
Youngstown, OH	9,385	9,190	195
Lorain, OH	9,760	9,423	337
Sandusky, OH	6,047	4,977	1,070
Mansfield, OH (David F. Winder)	9,106	9,049	57
McCafferty, OH	5	4	1
Lake County, OH	9,143	8,486	657
Akron, OH	16,222	13,558	2,664
East Liverpool, OH	4,046	3,592	454
Warren, OH	2,479	2,338	141
New Philadelphia, OH	4,198	3,891	307
Ravenna, OH	3,555	3,411	144
Parma, OH	20,516	17,761	2,755
Cleveland Euclid Avenue, OH	703	702	1
Cuyahoga County 4, OH - Mobile	268	107	161