Hernando Reporter

The James A. Haley VA Hospital in Tampa Florida scheduled 216,004 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 207,388 had a wait time of 30 days or less (96.01%) and 8,616 appointments (3.99%) 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)	59,294	56,024	3,270
Tampa, FL - VADOM	1	1	0
New Port Richey, FL	19,092	18,637	455
Lakeland, FL	13,754	13,564	190
Brooksville, FL	8,996	8,882	114
Zephyrhills, FL	3,345	3,305	40
South Hillsborough, FL	10,306	9,648	658
Forty Sixth Street North, FL	652	632	20
Forty Sixth Street South, FL	33,224	31,797	1,427
West Lakeland, FL	5,121	4,734	387
Deer Park, FL	2,121	1,836	285
Highway Nineteen, FL	3,477	3,421	56
Winners Circle, FL	11	11	0
Little Road, FL	1,121	1,098	23
Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, FL	9,194	9,053	141
Medical View Lane, FL	669	666	3
Hidden River, FL	37,292	35,784	1,508