PHOENIX — ABC15 is following up on new concerns that the VA Healthcare System may be missing some targets it set for itself when it comes to wait times, specifically for new mental health appointments.
Back in 2014, ABC15 reported extensively on the wait times scandal, with the Phoenix VA being the epicenter. Since then, the VA Healthcare System has applied wide-ranging reforms and improvements to streamline the process.
But according to a new analysis from CNN, the VA is still lagging behind, especially when it comes to veterans who are seeking mental health services for the first time.
Late last month, CNN reported that their investigators had looked into more than 800 VA medical centers nationwide. According to the analysis, veterans had to wait more than 20 days for their first mental health appointments at about two-thirds of the facilities they surveyed.
According to the same report, veterans at more than two dozen VA facilities had to wait more than three months.
VA Secretary Doug Collins pushed back on the CNN report, telling the outlet the average wait time is only 15 days for first-time behavioral health appointments.
We looked into data that's publicly available through the VA's Access to Care Portal, and according to numbers we found for the VA Medical Center near 7th Street and Indian School Road in Phoenix, new patients waited (on average) 13 days for a mental health appointment.
In late May, ABC15's Nick Ciletti spoke to the Phoenix VA Medical Center director, Elijah Ditter, at a Veggies for Veterans event, where veterans can pick up fresh fruits and vegetables, thanks to Diana Gregory Outreach Services and dozens of community volunteers.
"We have seen a lot of changes over the last decade," explains Ditter. "We are focusing on simple things - like Veggies for Veterans - but also more complex things like making sure we have access to those complex surgeries and specialty care."
Ditter also mentioned the new VA clinic that opened near 32nd Street and Van Buren Street in Phoenix.
"It offers primary care, mental health, and so many specialty care services to make sure we are giving holistic care," says Ditter.
ABC15 also followed up with Paula Pedene, a U.S. Navy veteran, who was a whistleblower back in 2014 during the Phoenix VA wait times scandal.
Pedene says she's noticed improvements over the past twelve years, but still says there is room to get better.
"There's more blending," says Pedene. "The VA system is a large hospital. You can't do everything. You have to have community partners...And the care I get at the VA is great. The people I see there are wonderful. I do still think there are issues with the culture."
According to data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Trump Administration laid off about 28,000 VA employees in 2025, which was about six percent of the VA's workforce. The White House says it was part of much-needed cost-cutting measures, but critics worry it's causing the quality of care our veterans receive to diminish.
"When we start talking about cutting their benefits or removing them, not for cause, but just for political viewpoints, that's not helpful," explains Pedene.
