Dorn VA Shows Improvement in Veterans Wait Times, While Nationally Little Has Changed

After the Veterans Administration secret wait list and long wait times scandal broke this summer, many VA hospitals, including Dorn VA Hospital in Columbia, SC, came under heavy scrutiny for failing to help veterans in a timely fashion. Now, the latest report on the problem shows that, while many VA hospitals still have long veterans wait times, Dorn has begun to show signs of improvement.

Thanks in large part to a voucher program that allows veterans to apply their benefits to private doctors, the patient waiting list at Dorn VA has been reduced to almost one-quarter of what it was in May this year. At that time, 120,000 veterans wait time was about 120 days or more for care at Dorn VA; now, the list is down to 23,000. Only 95 people are on an electronic waiting list at Dorn VA, and as of October 1st, of 48,000 pending appointments, 83.2% were scheduled in 30 days or less. While the Veterans Administration stated that the ideal wait time is 14 days or less, the time at Dorn shows significant improvement.

After scheduling an appointment, 45,000 veterans who applied for care at Dorn VA saw a physician within 14 days, which was the ideal wait time. Only 415 patients experienced the worst-case scenario, waiting 120 days or more for care. New patients still wait the longest; a new veteran waiting for a general appointment will typically wait 42 days, while an established patient waits only 23 days. For specialty care, like mental health, patients wait almost seven times longer than established patients – 50 days as compared to 7.5 days.

However, across the country, the numbers show little improvement. According to the Veterans Affairs’ latest report, 600,000 veterans still wait a month or more for their first appointment. VA hospitals across the country made reducing patient backlog and wait times their primary concern, and managed to reduce numbers by 57%. From June to September, VA hospitals nationally completed 19 million appointments.

“VA’s goal continues to be to provide timely, high-quality healthcare for veterans,” Hutton said in a statement. “Veterans and VA employees nationwide understand the need for reform, and VA is committed to putting these reforms into place. And while we have significantly improved capacity and access to care, we have not yet achieved our intended state — systemic and timely access across the board. It will be an ongoing and significant effort to reach our goals.”

Still, many veterans wait times for new appointments with their local VA hospitals continue to wait 30 days or more. The worst offender was the VA hospital at Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, where patients waited nearly 6 months for their first appointment.

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The Veterans Benefit Lawyers at the Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. work with veterans to file claims for a variety of disabilities and can assist you in filing your claims with the Veterans Administration. Veterans Disability can be complex.  Not understanding the basics and not having counsel may leave you in a bind.  We understand that you and your family need your benefits.  We will put our years of experience to work for you to ensure that you have the representation necessary to actively pursue your claim. Call the Veterans Benefits Attorneys at the Strom Law Firm today to discuss your case. We will be glad to discuss any questions you may have during our free, confidential discussion. Call the attorneys at the Strom Law Firm at (803) 252-4800.