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Cleveland Reporter

Friday, September 20, 2024

35 newly enrolled Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC patients seek medical appointments in February 2020

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The Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Cleveland reported that 35 patients newly enrolled in its benefits program requested appointments but had not received one during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

During that same time frame, the system scheduled 201,917 pending appointments across its 18 healthcare facilities.

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 or better to 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.

At a hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Committee after the report was released, Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, said new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains on its website that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to 1 of 8 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.

Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Cleveland Pending Appointments Scheduled in March
LocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
Cleveland, OH (Louis Stokes Cleveland)62,79359,1613,632
Canton, OH16,04715,702345
Youngstown, OH11,77911,432347
Lorain, OH11,06910,911158
Sandusky, OH7,4407,186254
Mansfield, OH (David F. Winder)12,95212,752200
McCafferty, OH1,4391,40534
Lake County, OH11,22910,875354
Akron, OH20,16818,9091,259
East Liverpool, OH4,5424,50240
Warren, OH4,2434,082161
New Philadelphia, OH4,9394,819120
Ravenna, OH5,1284,839289
Parma, OH26,29124,4601,831
Cleveland Superior Avenue, OH29245
Summit County, OH11110
Cleveland Euclid Avenue, OH1,0731,06211
Cuyahoga County 4, OH - Mobile37532055
Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration

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