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Saturday, September 21, 2024

VA Eastern Kansas HCS facility in St. Joseph scheduled 2,500 medical appointments in July 2020

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The VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System, subsidiary 589GI in St. Joseph, Missouri, scheduled 2,500 pending appointments during the period ending August 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 2,371 had a wait time of 30 days or less (94.8%) and 129 appointments (5.2%) 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 earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System Appointments Scheduled in July
Facility CodeLocationTotal Appointments ScheduledAppointments Scheduled 30 Days or LessAppointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
589A5Topeka22,64918,8293,820
589A6Leavenworth18,52515,9862,539
589GRJunction City2,7982,482316
589GISt. Joseph2,5002,371129
589GJKansas City1,1381,04296
589JEPlatte City926761165
589GULawrence58755136
589GVFort Scott5335303
589GMChanute2962960
589GPGarnett1421393
589MAFt. Riley DES Clinic20200
589BULeavenworth440
589MDIDES Fort Leavenworth110
Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration

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