Naples Standard

The VA Bay Pines Health Care System, subsidiary 516GF in Naples, Florida scheduled 8,013 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 7,841 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.9%) and 172 appointments (2.2%) 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
516	Bay Pines	94,457	88,371	6,086
516BZ	Cape Coral	50,988	48,231	2,757
516GD	Bradenton	15,690	14,177	1,513
516GA	Sarasota	11,135	10,744	391
516GE	Port Charlotte	10,365	9,882	483
516GF	Naples	8,013	7,841	172
516GC	Palm Harbor	7,507	7,382	125
516GH	Sebring	4,855	4,806	49
516GB	St. Petersburg	2,750	2,666	84

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration