SC New York News

The Syracuse VA Medical Center, subsidiary 528GN in Binghamton, New York scheduled 8,190 pending appointments during the period ending February 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 8,041 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.2%) and 149 appointments (1.8%) 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
528A7	Syracuse	50,414	46,267	4,147
528GM	Rome	9,673	9,010	663
528GN	Binghamton	8,190	8,041	149
528GO	Watertown	5,460	5,311	149
528QI	Erie East	4,497	3,582	915
528QG	Erie West	4,333	4,070	263
528GL	Massena	3,101	3,083	18
528GP	Oswego	2,544	2,522	22
528G9	Freeville	2,230	2,186	44
528QN	Watertown	2,030	1,952	78
528G5	Auburn	1,599	1,541	58
528QH	South Salina	115	114	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration