Union News

The Fayetteville VA Medical Center, subsidiary 565GD in Hamlet, North Carolina scheduled 1,236 pending appointments during the period ending May 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,187 had a wait time of 30 days or less (96%) and 49 appointments (4%) 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
565GL	Fayetteville	54,262	50,496	3,766
565GC	Wilmington	16,677	16,345	332
565	Fayetteville	12,200	11,144	1,056
565GA	Jacksonville	3,837	3,775	62
565GG	Sanford	3,097	3,028	69
565GE	Pembroke	2,421	2,185	236
565GF	Goldsboro	2,287	2,235	52
565GH	Holden Beach	1,457	1,450	7
565GD	Hamlet	1,236	1,187	49
565GJ	Jacksonville	1,161	1,151	10
565GM	Jacksonville	942	911	31
565QA	Fayetteville	329	329	0
565QD	Fayetteville	284	251	33

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration