Coastal GA News

The North Florida/South Georgia VA Health Care System, subsidiary 573GJ in St. Marys, Georgia scheduled 4,025 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, 3,901 had a wait time of 30 days or less (96.9%) and 124 appointments (3.1%) 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.

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
573	Gainesville	57,259	53,464	3,795
573BY	Jacksonville	43,605	38,371	5,234
573GI	The Villages	30,447	29,092	1,355
573GF	Tallahassee	26,204	25,371	833
573A4	Lake City	18,032	16,911	1,121
573QG	Jacksonville Southpoint	14,305	13,435	870
573QJ	Jacksonville	11,395	10,866	529
573GD	Ocala	10,001	9,797	204
573GE	Saint Augustine	8,630	8,406	224
573QD	Gainesville	6,750	6,593	157
573QE	Gainesville	5,169	4,913	256
573QH	Ocala	5,146	4,659	487
573GA	Valdosta	4,902	4,804	98
573GJ	St. Marys	4,025	3,901	124
573QK	Lake City	3,829	3,819	10
573GL	Palatka	3,276	3,239	37
573GM	Waycross	3,186	3,149	37
573GK	Marianna	3,003	2,991	12
573QC	Gainesville	1,649	1,061	588
573QB	Gainesville 2-98th Street	1,095	1,027	68
573GN	Perry	609	608	1
573QA	Gainesville 1-16th Street	57	57	0
573QF	Gainesville	32	24	8
573GG	Lecanto	4	4	0

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration