Cleveland Reporter

The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, subsidiary 541GM in Cleveland, Ohio scheduled 43 pending appointments during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 43 had a wait time of 30 days or less.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported that 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 that cautioned that 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.

The VA explains on its website that 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 do not have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
541	Cleveland	62,252	59,124	3,128
541GL	Parma	24,940	23,184	1,756
541GG	Akron	18,023	17,046	977
541BY	Canton	16,549	15,852	697
541GD	Mansfield	13,106	12,874	232
541BZ	Youngstown	11,555	11,217	338
541GF	Willoughby	10,784	10,541	243
541GB	Lorain	10,551	10,411	140
541GC	Sandusky	7,477	7,263	214
541GK	Ravenna	5,608	5,313	295
541GJ	New Philadelphia	4,601	4,496	105
541GH	East Liverpool	4,392	4,331	61
541GI	Warren	3,801	3,669	132
541GE	Cleveland	1,308	1,264	44
541QB	Cleveland	1,053	1,047	6
541QF	Cuyahoga County 4	376	325	51
541GM	Cleveland	43	43	0
541QA	Summit County	1	1	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration