Pee Dee News

The Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center, subsidiary 544GB in Florence, South Carolina scheduled 8,032 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, 7,950 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99%) and 82 appointments (1%) 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
544	Columbia	94,194	85,906	8,288
544BZ	Greenville	21,118	19,225	1,893
544GC	Rock Hill	9,238	9,175	63
544GB	Florence	8,032	7,950	82
544GD	Anderson	7,814	7,527	287
544GG	Spartanburg	6,316	6,290	26
544GF	Sumter	4,436	4,329	107
544GE	Orangeburg	3,627	3,574	53
544HK	Columbia	910	803	107

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration