Happy Valley Times

The James E. Van Zandt Altoona VA Medical Center in Altoona ranked 104th among VA health care systems with 42,985 pending appointments across its six locations during the period ending Oct. 1, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

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.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 cautioning 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.

Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to one of eight priority groups, with those need immediate care due to service-related disabilities placed in higher priority groups. Veterans who don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Rank	Health Care System	Total Pending Appointments Scheduled
1	North Florida/South Georgia VA HCS	262,610
2	Orlando VAMC	234,924
3	VA Atlanta HCS	211,402
4	VA North Texas HCS	203,480
5	James A. Haley VA Hospital	202,332
6	Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC	197,690
7	VA Central Texas HCS	197,508
8	Michael E. DeBakey VAMC	197,218
9	Tennessee Valley HCS	196,847
10	W. G. Hefner VA MC	196,207
11	VA Bay Pines HCS	195,217
12	VA South Texas HCS	177,952
13	VA Caribbean HCS	155,123
14	Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VAMC	154,130
15	VA Phoenix HCS	145,500
16	VA Loma Linda HCS	142,540
17	Fayetteville VAMC	141,616
18	Hunter Holmes McGuire Richmond VAMC	136,954
19	Durham VAMC	136,635
20	VA Northern California HCS	122,885
21	Birmingham VAMC	122,754
22	VA Southern Nevada HCS	122,408
23	VA Central Arkansas HCS	120,226
24	Ralph H. Johnson VAMC	118,455
25	West Palm Beach VAMC	117,103
26	VA Gulf Coast Veterans HCS	115,915
27	VA Greater Los Angeles HCS	113,975
28	Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital	111,218
29	Oklahoma City VAMC	110,739
30	VA Minneapolis HCS	107,400
31	St. Louis, MO VAMC	106,728
32	VA Pittsburgh HCS	106,169
33	VA Miami HCS	105,894
34	VA Southeast Louisiana HCS	103,569
35	VA Eastern Colorado HCS	103,498
36	Mountain Home VAMC	101,822
37	Milwaukee VAMC	98,685
38	Philadelphia VAMC	98,606
39	VA Long Beach HCS	98,354
40	VA New Jersey HCS	98,162
41	VA Boston HCS	97,200
42	VA San Diego HCS	94,180
43	Portland VAMC	93,513
44	Hampton VAMC	93,485
45	Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory VA HCS	92,483
46	VA Southern Arizona HCS	92,206
47	VA Connecticut HCS	88,945
48	Charles George VAMC	87,961
49	Syracuse VAMC	87,064
50	Robley Rex VAMC	86,806
51	Memphis VAMC	86,516
52	VA New Mexico HCS	86,246
53	Lebanon VAMC	85,028
54	VA Ann Arbor HCS	82,863
55	Salem VAMC	81,477
56	John D. Dingell VAMC	81,225
57	Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital	80,727
58	VA Puget Sound HCS	79,895
59	Cincinnati VAMC	79,436
60	Richard L. Roudebush VAMC	79,378
61	Charlie Norwood VAMC	78,684
62	Providence VAMC	74,916
63	VA Central Alabama HCS	74,294
64	VA Western New York at Buffalo HCS	73,289
65	Kansas City VAMC	70,389
66	Wilkes-Barre VAMC	70,105
67	VA Salt Lake City HCS	69,656
68	Montgomery VAMC	69,482
69	VA of the Ozarks HCS	69,232
70	VA Northern Indiana HCS	68,333
71	Carl Vinson VAMC	67,896
72	Overton Brooks VAMC	66,779
73	VA Maryland HCS	66,635
74	Dayton VAMC	65,897
75	Jesse Brown VAMC	65,749
76	VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS	65,481
77	Washington DC VAMC	64,935
78	Muskogee VAMC	62,603
79	VA Maine HCS	62,076
80	VA El Paso HCS	61,258
81	Martinsburg VAMC	58,090
82	Battle Creek VAMC	57,047
83	Hershel 'Woody' Williams VAMC	56,900
84	Marion VAMC	56,744
85	VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend HCS	56,144
86	Albany Stratton VAMC	55,435
87	VA Eastern Kansas HCS	55,226
88	Northport Affairs VAMC	54,799
89	VA Palo Alto HCS	54,703
90	San Francisco VAMC	54,571
91	VA NY Harbor HCS	53,700
92	VA Alexandria HCS	52,363
93	Wilmington VAMC	50,806
94	VA Iowa City HCS	50,505
95	Louis A. Johnson VAMC	49,239
96	VA St. Cloud HCS	48,184
97	Robert J. Dole VAMC	47,841
98	Aleda E. Lutz VAMC	47,316
99	VA Montana HCS	46,903
100	VA Amarillo HCS	46,570
101	VA Central Western Massachusetts HCS	45,463
102	VA Pacific Islands HCS	45,169
103	Madison VA Hospital	43,255
104	James E. Van Zandt Altoona VAMC	42,985
105	VA Central California HCS	41,571
106	Manchester VAMC	41,340
107	James J. Peters VAMC	40,940
108	White River Junction VAMC	40,285
109	VA Sierra Nevada HCS	39,557
110	Lexington VAMC	39,555
111	Sioux Falls VAMC	37,993
112	Roseburg VAMC	37,490
113	VA Illiana HCS	35,579
114	Chillicothe VAMC	35,403
115	Erie VAMC	35,000
116	Fargo VAMC	34,444
117	VA Hudson Valley HCS	33,405
118	Boise VAMC	32,893
119	James A. Lovell Federal HCS	31,567
120	VA Central Iowa HCS	29,334
121	Canandaigua VAMC	29,146
122	Poplar Bluff VAMC	28,564
123	Tomah VAMC	28,389
124	VA Northern Arizona HCS	26,761
125	Spokane VAMC	26,045
126	Beckley VAMC	25,862
127	VA Butler HCS	25,437
128	Coatesville VAMC	23,665
129	Bath VAMC	22,003
130	Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital	21,068
131	VA West Texas HCS	20,794
132	Cheyenne VAMC	20,390
133	Tuscaloosa VAMC	18,986
134	VA Black Hills HCS	18,223
135	Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VAMC	17,542
136	Grand Junction VAMC	14,931
137	Oscar G. Johnson VAMC	14,494
138	Southern Oregon HCS	9,866
139	Sheridan VAMC	9,344
140	VA Alaska HCS	7,864

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration