NW Jersey News

The VA New Jersey Health Care System, subsidiary 561GK in Sussex, New Jersey scheduled 878 pending appointments during the period ending March 1, according to data collected from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Of the total number of appointments, 872 had a wait time of 30 days or less (99.3%) and six appointments (0.7%) 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
561	East Orange	39,307	35,385	3,922
561BZ	Brick	20,817	19,641	1,176
561A4	Lyons	18,733	17,597	1,136
561GD	Hackensack	7,179	7,062	117
561GI	Tinton Falls	5,485	5,319	166
561GA	Hamilton	2,031	2,002	29
561GF	Piscataway	1,655	1,648	7
561GH	Morristown	1,428	1,387	41
561GJ	Paterson	1,203	1,181	22
561GE	Jersey City	1,157	1,137	20
561GK	Sussex	878	872	6
561GB	Elizabeth	824	806	18

Source: U.S. Veteran's Administration