Hernando Reporter

The James A. Haley VA Hospital in Tampa Florida scheduled 203,439 pending appointments across its locations during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments 194,940 had a wait time of 30 days or less (95.82%) and 8,499 appointments (4.18%) 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)	60,318	57,289	3,029
New Port Richey, FL	18,263	17,847	416
Lakeland, FL	13,188	13,079	109
Brooksville, FL	8,747	8,704	43
Zephyrhills, FL	3,371	3,322	49
South Hillsborough, FL	7,482	6,858	624
Forty Sixth Street North, FL	492	480	12
Forty Sixth Street South, FL	32,761	31,746	1,015
West Lakeland, FL	4,622	4,275	347
Deer Park, FL	1,932	1,170	762
Highway Nineteen, FL	3,265	2,855	410
Winners Circle, FL	11	11	0
Little Road, FL	1,146	1,119	27
Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, FL	9,015	8,923	92
Medical View Lane, FL	674	673	1
Hidden River, FL	35,092	33,539	1,553