North Country Leader

The Syracuse VA Medical Center, subsidiary 528GO in Watertown, New York, scheduled 5,408 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 5,315 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.3%) and 93 appointments (1.7%) were scheduled more than 30 days out.

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

However, the Government Accountability Office released a report in July 2019 cautinging 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 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
528A7	Syracuse	40,478	37,666	2,812
528GM	Rome	8,861	8,272	589
528GN	Binghamton	6,399	6,113	286
528GO	Watertown	5,408	5,315	93
528QG	Erie West	3,695	3,395	300
528QN	Watertown	2,990	2,845	145
528GL	Massena	2,291	2,247	44
528GP	Oswego	2,054	2,040	14
528G9	Freeville	1,931	1,878	53
528G5	Auburn	1,758	1,698	60
528QI	Erie East	1,754	1,517	237
528QH	South Salina	77	77	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration