South Triangle News

The Fayetteville VA Medical Center, subsidiary 565GG in Sanford, North Carolina, scheduled 3,446 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, 3,368 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.7%) and 78 appointments (2.3%) 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	49,812	42,622	7,190
565GC	Wilmington	19,234	17,292	1,942
565	Fayetteville	12,969	10,928	2,041
565GA	Jacksonville	3,917	3,793	124
565GG	Sanford	3,446	3,368	78
565GF	Goldsboro	2,787	2,770	17
565GE	Pembroke	2,355	2,272	83
565GH	Holden Beach	2,311	2,269	42
565GD	Hamlet	1,784	1,764	20
565GM	Jacksonville	1,387	1,318	69
565GJ	Jacksonville	1,077	1,072	5
565QA	Fayetteville	973	935	38
565QD	Fayetteville	468	402	66
565MB	IDES Fort Bragg	13	12	1
565MD	IDES Camp Lejeune	3	3	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration