South Triangle News

The Fayetteville VA Medical Center, subsidiary 565GG in Sanford, North Carolina, scheduled 3,300 pending appointments during the period ending October 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 3,227 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.8%) and 73 appointments (2.2%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

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 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
565GL	Fayetteville	43,678	39,165	4,513
565GC	Wilmington	18,630	16,822	1,808
565	Fayetteville	13,143	10,771	2,372
565GA	Jacksonville	3,851	3,744	107
565GG	Sanford	3,300	3,227	73
565GF	Goldsboro	2,799	2,778	21
565GE	Pembroke	2,290	2,223	67
565GH	Holden Beach	2,083	2,033	50
565GD	Hamlet	1,811	1,793	18
565GM	Jacksonville	1,322	1,279	43
565GJ	Jacksonville	977	976	1
565QA	Fayetteville	379	318	61
565QD	Fayetteville	350	310	40
565MB	IDES Fort Bragg	68	65	3
565MD	IDES Camp Lejeune	42	42	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration