Upper Cumberland Times

The Tennessee Valley Health Care System, subsidiary 626GH in Cookeville, Tennessee, scheduled 5,508 pending appointments during the period ending December 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 5,366 had a wait time of 30 days or less (97.4%) and 142 appointments (2.6%) 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.

Facility Code	Location	Total Appointments Scheduled	Appointments Scheduled 30 Days or Less	Appointments Scheduled More than 30 Days
626	Nashville	51,621	45,958	5,663
626A4	Murfreesboro	45,838	40,745	5,093
626GF	Chattanooga	13,964	13,505	459
626GE	Clarksville	13,271	12,312	959
626QB	Charlotte Avenue	5,677	5,542	135
626GH	Cookeville	5,508	5,366	142
626QC	Chattanooga	4,932	4,548	384
626GC	Bowling Green	4,921	4,699	222
626GJ	Hopkinsville	4,212	3,918	294
626GO	International Plaza	4,002	3,772	230
626GM	Columbia	3,671	3,516	155
626QA	Albion Street	2,627	2,607	20
626GK	McMinnville	2,249	2,228	21
626GL	Harriman	2,107	2,069	38
626GN	Athens	2,028	1,969	59
626GP	Gallatin	1,732	1,710	22
626GA	Dover	1,307	1,231	76
626GG	Tullahoma	1,287	1,270	17
626QD	Murfreesboro	319	282	37

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration