{"id":74968,"date":"2024-03-26T20:35:06","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T20:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:20:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:20:29","slug":"va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/","title":{"rendered":"VA patient numbers jump after efforts to improve medical access"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2024\/02\/23\/more-vets-could-be-headed-to-dod-medical-sites-to-get-va-health-care\/\" target=\"_blank\">Veterans Affairs medical sites <\/a>saw a spike in patient visits and drop in wait times over the first half of the new fiscal year, thanks to the addition of more night and weekend appointments, department officials announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The expanded medical offerings \u2014 part of the department\u2019s Access Sprints initiative \u2014 comes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/military-honor\/salute-veterans\/2023\/11\/08\/mcdonough-wants-va-to-reach-every-veteran-in-the-country\/\" target=\"_blank\">amid an aggressive push by VA leaders to bring more veterans into their system<\/a> for health care following expanded eligibility for benefits as part of comprehensive military toxic exposure legislation passed in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since March 5, all veterans who served in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, or any combat zone after Sept. 11, 2001, are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2024\/02\/01\/va-eyes-more-medical-care-for-vets-with-toxic-exposure-issues\/\" target=\"_blank\">eligible to enroll directly in VA health care<\/a> without first applying for disability benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/12\/va-plans-to-trim-10000-jobs-this-year-mostly-from-medical-sites\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1237664865.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">VA plans to trim 10,000 jobs this year, mostly from medical sites<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The White House&#039;s budget request for fiscal 2025 calls for a 2% reduction in the size of the Veterans Affairs workforce next year.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through the first five months of fiscal 2024 \u2014&nbsp;which began last October \u2014 new patient appointments are up 11% at VA medical centers, officials said. More than 80% of all sites have seen their total number of patients increase over that time compared to a year earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, VA leaders said they saw 12% fewer new patients waiting for appointments beyond department guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials said the Access Sprint initiative was the result of feedback from local VA facilities and regional networks looking for ways to improve timeliness, efficiency, capacity and employee experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, leaders are hoping to continue those offerings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal said that some of the changes required extra staff or overtime work, but most of the services were designed to be sustainable into future months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re asking every medical center and network to look very closely at what they can continue, especially since we discovered that we can see many more veterans with these improvements,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Department planners are looking to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2024\/03\/12\/va-plans-to-trim-10000-jobs-this-year-mostly-from-medical-sites\/\" target=\"_blank\">trim about 10,000 medical positions through attrition this year<\/a>, but Elnahal said he does not expect that to impact any patient care capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veterans interested in signing up for VA health care can contact their local medical center or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\">visit the department\u2019s website.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Veterans Affairs medical sites saw their patient numbers spike after a five-month effort to improve access and delivery of health care.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":74196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":21,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,12,24,16,26,65,21],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3328],"class_list":["post-74968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-education-transition","category-home","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"IIYS3WNNOFDVRI5YQ6ZJJAFQBA","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>VA patient numbers jump after efforts to improve medical access - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Veterans Affairs medical sites saw their patient numbers spike after a five-month effort to improve access and delivery of health care.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VA patient numbers jump after efforts to improve medical access\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Veterans Affairs medical sites saw their patient numbers spike after a five-month effort to improve access and delivery of health care.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-26T20:35:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T15:20:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"VA patient numbers jump after efforts to improve medical access\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2024-03-26T20:35:06+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T15:20:29+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 338,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1237664778.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Education &amp; Transition\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pentagon &amp; Congress\",\n\t                \"Veterans\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"VA patient numbers jump after efforts to improve medical access - Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1237664778.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2024-03-26T20:35:06+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T15:20:29+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Veterans Affairs medical sites saw their patient numbers spike after a five-month effort to improve access and delivery of health care.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1237664778.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1237664778.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/2024\\\/03\\\/26\\\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Veterans\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/veterans\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"veterans\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"VA patient numbers jump after efforts to improve medical access\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Air Force TImes\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/air-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Air Force TImes\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/airforcetimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"VA patient numbers jump after efforts to improve medical access - Air Force TImes","description":"Veterans Affairs medical sites saw their patient numbers spike after a five-month effort to improve access and delivery of health care.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"VA patient numbers jump after efforts to improve medical access","og_description":"Veterans Affairs medical sites saw their patient numbers spike after a five-month effort to improve access and delivery of health care.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/","og_site_name":"Air Force TImes","article_published_time":"2024-03-26T20:35:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T15:20:29+00:00","author":"Leo Shane III","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Leo Shane III","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"VA patient numbers jump after efforts to improve medical access","datePublished":"2024-03-26T20:35:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T15:20:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/"},"wordCount":338,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1237664778.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Education &amp; Transition","Home","News","Newsletters","Pentagon &amp; Congress","Veterans"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/","name":"VA patient numbers jump after efforts to improve medical access - Air Force TImes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1237664778.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2024-03-26T20:35:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T15:20:29+00:00","description":"Veterans Affairs medical sites saw their patient numbers spike after a five-month effort to improve access and delivery of health care.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1237664778.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1237664778.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2024\/03\/26\/va-patient-numbers-jump-after-efforts-to-improve-medical-access\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Veterans","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/","ad_zone":"veterans"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"VA patient numbers jump after efforts to improve medical access"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","name":"Air Force TImes","description":"Independent News For Airmen | Air Force Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#organization","name":"Air Force TImes","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/air-logo-white.png","caption":"Air Force TImes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Air Force TImes","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1237664778.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74968"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99255,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74968\/revisions\/99255"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74968"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=74968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}