F157: Immediately tell the resident, the resident's doctor, and a family member of situations (injury/decline/room, etc.) that affect the resident
F157 is one of the federal requirements every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home must meet. CMS describes it as: Immediately tell the resident, the resident's doctor, and a family member of situations (injury/decline/room, etc.) that affect the resident.
It sits in CMS's resident rights category.
CMS Health Deficiencies file, data as of September 1, 2026. The files hold each home's last three standard inspections and three years of complaint visits.
How seriously inspectors rate it
Every citation gets a letter for how much harm inspectors found and how many residents it touched (how to read the letters). 0.0% of F157 citations came from a complaint visit rather than a routine inspection.
By letter: D 3.
What inspectors wrote
Three recent F157 citations from different states, quoted from the inspectors' statements of deficiencies (CMS form 2567). Names are removed by CMS.
Inspectors wrote, November 9, 2017, scope and severity DBased on observations, clinical record review, staff and family interview and facility policy review, the facility staff failed to inform Resident Representatives of a change in condition for 1 out of 29 residents (Resident #3) in the survey sample. The facility staff failed to inform Resident #3's Resident Representative of a change in condition.
Nassawadox Rehabilitation and Nursing, Nassawadox, VA
Inspectors wrote, May 18, 2017, scope and severity DBased on observation, medical records, staff interviews, and a family member, It was determined that the facility staff failed to notify the physician that Resident #256 refused a medication that was obtained as an emergency because the resident had become agitated and restless. This was evident for 1 out of 44 residents surveyed during Stage II of the survey process.
Complete Care at Severna Park LLC, Severna Park, MD
Most recent F157 citations
| Inspection | Home | Town | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 9, 2017 | Nassawadox Rehabilitation and Nursing | Nassawadox, VA | D |
| May 18, 2017 | Complete Care at Severna Park LLC | Severna Park, MD | D |
| March 23, 2017 | Potomac Falls Health & Rehab Center | Sterling, VA | D |
Common questions
- What is F157 in a nursing home inspection?
- F157 is the federal requirement to "immediately tell the resident, the resident's doctor, and a family member of situations (injury/decline/room, etc.) that affect the resident". CMS files it under resident rights. A home cited under F157 did not meet that requirement at the inspection.
- How often is F157 cited?
- The CMS files as of September 1, 2026 list 3 F157 citations at 3 nursing homes, 0 of them in the 12 months to that date. 0.0% were rated as actual harm or immediate jeopardy.
- Is a F157 citation serious?
- It depends on the letter. Most F157 citations (100.0%) were rated as potential for more than minimal harm, D to F. None in the current files is at the immediate jeopardy level.
The interpretive guidance inspectors use for each F-tag is CMS's State Operations Manual, Appendix PP. NursingHomeClear reports the citations as CMS records them and is not affiliated with CMS. All F-tags · Methodology