Pierce Today

The VA Puget Sound Health Care System ranked 81st among VA health care systems with 44,718 pending appointments across its eight locations during the period ending July 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	Orlando VAMC	198,639
2	North Florida/South Georgia VA HCS	188,314
3	Tennessee Valley HCS	171,923
4	VA Bay Pines HCS	165,055
5	VA North Texas HCS	162,723
6	James A. Haley VA Hospital	162,158
7	W. G. Hefner VA MC	161,994
8	VA Atlanta HCS	161,982
9	VA Central Texas HCS	160,702
10	Michael E. DeBakey VAMC	158,286
11	VA South Texas HCS	155,763
12	Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC	149,638
13	VA Caribbean HCS	128,800
14	VA Phoenix HCS	119,147
15	Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VAMC	115,499
16	VA Loma Linda HCS	114,132
17	Hunter Holmes McGuire Richmond VAMC	113,642
18	Durham VAMC	112,528
19	West Palm Beach VAMC	102,779
20	VA Central Arkansas HCS	101,644
21	VA Northern California HCS	101,360
22	Birmingham VAMC	101,338
23	Fayetteville VAMC	97,586
24	VA Gulf Coast Veterans HCS	92,099
25	Mountain Home VAMC	91,159
26	VA Greater Los Angeles HCS	90,846
27	VA Miami HCS	88,362
28	Ralph H. Johnson VAMC	88,256
29	VA Southern Nevada HCS	87,949
30	Milwaukee VAMC	83,884
31	Oklahoma City VAMC	81,847
32	VA Minneapolis HCS	79,480
33	Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital	78,201
34	Hampton VAMC	77,522
35	VA Southern Arizona HCS	75,561
36	Memphis VAMC	74,592
37	VA Eastern Colorado HCS	73,836
38	Kansas City VAMC	72,420
39	VA Long Beach HCS	72,150
40	Syracuse VAMC	71,577
41	Philadelphia VAMC	71,130
42	Lebanon VAMC	71,010
43	Robley Rex VAMC	70,462
44	Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital	69,877
45	VA New Mexico HCS	69,402
46	Salem VAMC	69,090
47	VA Southeast Louisiana HCS	69,065
48	VA Pittsburgh HCS	67,857
49	VA San Diego HCS	64,514
50	Portland VAMC	63,907
51	VA Boston HCS	63,762
52	VA of the Ozarks HCS	62,040
53	John D. Dingell VAMC	61,934
54	VA Ann Arbor HCS	61,613
55	Muskogee VAMC	60,843
56	VA Connecticut HCS	60,592
57	Richard L. Roudebush VAMC	60,500
58	Overton Brooks VAMC	60,463
59	Providence VAMC	59,376
60	VA Central Alabama HCS	58,719
61	Charlie Norwood VAMC	58,501
62	Charles George VAMC	58,302
63	Montgomery VAMC	58,275
64	VA New Jersey HCS	57,617
65	Cincinnati VAMC	57,189
66	VA Northern Indiana HCS	56,733
67	Carl Vinson VAMC	55,251
68	Dayton VAMC	53,679
69	Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory VA HCS	53,563
70	St. Louis, MO VAMC	52,933
71	VA Western New York at Buffalo HCS	51,777
72	VA Eastern Kansas HCS	49,884
73	Marion VAMC	49,732
74	Wilkes-Barre VAMC	48,716
75	VA Salt Lake City HCS	48,396
76	VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend HCS	47,779
77	VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS	47,159
78	Battle Creek VAMC	46,923
79	Hershel 'Woody' Williams VAMC	44,932
80	VA El Paso HCS	44,888
81	VA Puget Sound HCS	44,718
82	VA Montana HCS	44,417
83	VA Alexandria HCS	43,087
84	Albany Stratton VAMC	42,554
85	Robert J. Dole VAMC	42,473
86	VA Iowa City HCS	42,232
87	VA Amarillo HCS	42,022
88	James E. Van Zandt Altoona VAMC	40,357
89	VA Maryland HCS	39,900
90	VA Maine HCS	39,389
91	VA Pacific Islands HCS	38,167
92	Jesse Brown VAMC	36,217
93	Martinsburg VAMC	35,809
94	Wilmington VAMC	34,864
95	VA St. Cloud HCS	34,290
96	San Francisco VAMC	33,905
97	Louis A. Johnson VAMC	32,683
98	Washington DC VAMC	31,768
99	VA Sierra Nevada HCS	31,699
100	Northport Affairs VAMC	30,031
101	VA Illiana HCS	29,837
102	VA Central California HCS	29,795
103	Aleda E. Lutz VAMC	29,168
104	Roseburg VAMC	28,762
105	Chillicothe VAMC	28,257
106	Manchester VAMC	28,229
107	Bath VAMC	27,644
108	VA Palo Alto HCS	27,569
109	White River Junction VAMC	27,392
110	Madison VA Hospital	26,847
111	VA Central Western Massachusetts HCS	26,727
112	Lexington VAMC	26,542
113	Erie VAMC	26,450
114	Poplar Bluff VAMC	26,210
115	Boise VAMC	24,876
116	Tomah VAMC	24,345
117	Fargo VAMC	23,946
118	VA NY Harbor HCS	23,442
119	VA Butler HCS	23,198
120	VA Northern Arizona HCS	22,754
121	Sioux Falls VAMC	22,727
122	James A. Lovell Federal HCS	21,347
123	James J. Peters VAMC	21,293
124	Beckley VAMC	21,090
125	VA Central Iowa HCS	20,560
126	Tuscaloosa VAMC	17,460
127	Coatesville VAMC	17,197
128	VA Black Hills HCS	16,410
129	VA Hudson Valley HCS	15,875
130	Cheyenne VAMC	14,772
131	VA West Texas HCS	14,656
132	Spokane VAMC	14,475
133	Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VAMC	12,267
134	Oscar G. Johnson VAMC	10,791
135	Grand Junction VAMC	9,486
136	Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital	9,186
137	Sheridan VAMC	6,707
138	Southern Oregon HCS	5,171
139	VA Alaska HCS	3,531

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration