These articles pinpointed wait times all across America, including North Carolina, Virginia, San Diego and Colorado. USA Today discovered widespread inaccuracies in recorded VA hospital wait times that have skewed data and created false reports, while the Denver Post and NPR detailed their region’s specific troubles. NPR (DATE?) took their article a step farther by focusing on the Veterans Choice and Accountability Act, investigating where the money has gone that came from that Act.

All of these articles dealt with the fact that DESCRIBED HOW the number of Veterans going into hospitals has greatly increased over the years while staffing has either stayed the same or lowered. All of the articles did a good job of fully explaining and analyzing every piece of information they were giving to their audience, but NPR and Denver  ??? helped make their stories more personable by talking to actual patients and veterans effected by these wait times and poor conditions. GOOD START – NEED A FEW MORE SENTENCES BUILDING THIS OUT 

Migoya, David. “Wait Times at Colorado VA Facilities among Worst in the Nation, New Data Show.” The Denver Post, The Denver Post, 28 July 2017, www.denverpost.com/2017/07/27/colorado-veterans-affairs-facilities-long-wait-time/.

Slack, Donovan. “Inaccurate VA Wait Times Preclude Thousands of Vets from Getting Outside Care, Probe Finds.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 3 Mar. 2017, www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/03/veterans-affairs-inspector-general-widespread-inaccuracies-wait-times/98693856/.

Walsh, KPBS Steve, et al. “VA Hospitals Still Struggling With Adding Staff Despite Billions From Choice Act.” NPR, NPR, 31 Jan. 2017, www.npr.org/2017/01/31/512052311/va-hospitals-still-struggling-with-adding-staff-despite-billions-from-choice-act.

Data Questions:

1. Why is Little Rock prioritized and Fayetteville is not? From my current research I’ve found that nurses in Little Rock get paid more, but the conditions are worse. Does this have anything to do with the data found here?
2. Is it important to find out more about the actual patients going in? Are some of these appointments that are part of the totals the same person, family members who aren’t actually veterans? Should the type of procedure/reason for the visit matter when certain visits are more time consuming than others?