North Country Leader

The Syracuse VA Medical Center, subsidiary 528QN in Watertown, New York scheduled 1,394 pending appointments during the period ending September 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,357 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.4%) and 37 appointments (2.7%) 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 who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Syracuse VA Medical Center Appointments Scheduled in August

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
528A7	Syracuse	47,155	43,504	3,651
528GM	Rome	8,606	8,041	565
528GN	Binghamton	7,408	7,187	221
528GO	Watertown	5,406	5,346	60
528QG	Erie West	4,365	4,103	262
528QI	Erie East	4,282	3,223	1,059
528GL	Massena	2,831	2,816	15
528GP	Oswego	2,383	2,362	21
528G9	Freeville	1,937	1,896	41
528G5	Auburn	1,791	1,743	48
528QN	Watertown	1,394	1,357	37
528QH	South Salina	148	148	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration