Hernando Reporter

The James A. Haley VA Hospital in Tampa Florida scheduled 194,750 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending August 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 186,752 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.89%) and 7,998 appointments (4.11%) 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
Tampa, FL (James A. Haley)	57,836	54,960	2,876
Tampa, FL - VADOM	2	2	0
New Port Richey, FL	17,833	17,370	463
Lakeland, FL	13,112	13,015	97
Brooksville, FL	8,354	8,292	62
Zephyrhills, FL	3,287	3,267	20
South Hillsborough, FL	6,327	5,877	450
Forty Sixth Street North, FL	476	457	19
Forty Sixth Street South, FL	32,189	31,256	933
West Lakeland, FL	4,422	4,078	344
Deer Park, FL	1,927	1,185	742
Highway Nineteen, FL	3,212	2,805	407
Winners Circle, FL	7	7	0
Little Road, FL	1,240	1,207	33
Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, FL	9,040	8,949	91
Medical View Lane, FL	650	645	5
Hidden River, FL	34,412	32,958	1,454