Hernando Reporter

The James A. Haley VA Hospital in Tampa Florida scheduled 188,423 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 181,466 had a wait time of 30 days or less (96.31%) and 6,957 appointments (3.69%) 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)	57,621	55,107	2,514
Tampa, FL - VADOM	3	3	0
New Port Richey, FL	18,054	17,655	399
Lakeland, FL	11,380	11,240	140
Brooksville, FL	8,411	8,340	71
Zephyrhills, FL	3,342	3,274	68
Forty Sixth Street North, FL	590	586	4
Forty Sixth Street South, FL	31,507	30,975	532
West Lakeland, FL	5,516	4,889	627
Deer Park, FL	2,180	1,424	756
Highway Nineteen, FL	3,245	2,952	293
Winners Circle, FL	4	4	0
Little Road, FL	1,197	1,166	31
Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, FL	9,026	8,900	126
Medical View Lane, FL	658	655	3
Hidden River, FL	35,689	34,296	1,393