Bad news for veterans in the New Orleans VA system: The average wait time for a new patient is 38.3 days, putting it among the 20 worst in the country, WWL-TV is reporting.
Less than 30 percent of new patients at in the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System see a doctor within two weeks of seeking care. Two weeks is the target set by the Veterans Administration.
The data was obtained by USA Today under a Freedom of Information Act request, and covers the period from October 2013 through March 2014.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has been engulfed in a scandal in recent weeks involving fatal delays in health care for veterans. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned Friday morning in the wake of the scandal.
