Finger Lakes Today

The Syracuse VA Medical Center, subsidiary 528G5 in Auburn, New York scheduled 1,731 pending appointments during the period ending November 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 1,680 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.1%) and 51 appointments (3%) 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	47,593	43,888	3,705
528GM	Rome	8,794	8,230	564
528GN	Binghamton	7,937	7,773	164
528GO	Watertown	5,312	5,208	104
528QG	Erie West	4,274	4,007	267
528QI	Erie East	4,260	3,223	1,037
528GL	Massena	3,090	3,074	16
528GP	Oswego	2,477	2,455	22
528G9	Freeville	2,089	2,053	36
528G5	Auburn	1,731	1,680	51
528QN	Watertown	1,494	1,406	88
528QH	South Salina	143	141	2

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration