Tri Cities Reporter

The Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center, subsidiary 687GA in Richland, Washington scheduled 2,111 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, 2,082 had a wait time of 30 days or less (98.6%) and 29 appointments (1.4%) 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
687	Walla Walla	10,862	10,045	817
687HA	Yakima	3,665	3,545	120
687GA	Richland	2,111	2,082	29
687GB	Lewiston	614	586	28
687GC	La Grande	227	222	5
687QB	Boardman	99	99	0
687QC	Enterprise	21	20	1

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration