Find a nursing home

Home / F-tags / F555

F555: Honor the resident's right to choose his or her attending physician

F555 is one of the federal requirements every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home must meet. CMS describes it as: Honor the resident's right to choose his or her attending physician. It sits in CMS's resident rights category.

56citations in the CMS files
55homes cited at least once
20in the 12 months to September 2026
0.0%rated actual harm or immediate jeopardy

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). 78.6% of F555 citations came from a complaint visit rather than a routine inspection.

  • Immediate jeopardy (J, K, L)0 (0.0%)
  • Actual harm (G, H, I)0 (0.0%)
  • Potential for more than minimal harm (D, E, F)54 (96.4%)
  • Potential for minimal harm (A, B, C)2 (3.6%)

By letter: B 1, C 1, D 35, E 14, F 5.

What inspectors wrote

Three recent F555 citations from different states, quoted from the inspectors' statements of deficiencies (CMS form 2567). Names are removed by CMS.

Inspectors wrote, July 16, 2026, scope and severity FBased on record review and interview, it was determined that the facility failed to allow residents the right to choose their attending physician. This was evident for thirteen (Residents #2, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #21, and #24) of the fourteen residents interviewed regarding this change.

Elkton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Elkton, MD

Inspectors wrote, July 10, 2026, scope and severity EBased on interview and record review, the facility failed to respect the rights of five of eight sampled residents (Residents 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) by:1. Failing to ensure Resident 1 and Resident 2's rights to choose their own attending physician (AP) were followed.2. Failing to ensure Residents 3, 4, and 5 were given an option to choose their own AP while at the facility. These failures violated the rights of Residents 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in choosing their own AP while at the facility.

The Gardens Healthcare Center, Northridge, CA

Inspectors wrote, June 29, 2026, scope and severity DBased on observations, interviews, and record review, the facility failed to honor the residents' rights to choose their attending physician for 1 (#57) of 23 sampled residents. This deficient practice affected all residents wanting to choose their primary physician and resulted in resident #57 feeling she could not use her primary physician she had built a relationship with and was comfortable using.

Libby Care Center, Libby, MT

Most recent F555 citations

InspectionHomeTownLetter
July 16, 2026Elkton Nursing and Rehabilitation CenterElkton, MD F
July 10, 2026The Gardens Healthcare CenterNorthridge, CA E
June 29, 2026Libby Care CenterLibby, MT D
June 22, 2026Rancho Bellagio Post AcuteMoreno Valley, CA E
June 18, 2026Chatsworth Park Health Care CenterChatsworth, CA D
May 28, 2026Grand Manor Health Care CenterSaint Louis, MO D
April 30, 2026Pinnacle Point Wellness & RehabilitationRiverside, MO E
April 24, 2026Hillside Health Care CenterSaint Louis, MO D
April 22, 2026Rio Grande Rehabilitation and Healthcare CenterLa Jara, CO E
April 16, 2026Heritage Care CenterSaint Louis, MO E
April 8, 2026Bernard Care CenterSaint Louis, MO E
April 6, 2026Spring River Rehabilitation and Care CenterRoswell, NM D
March 27, 2026Westview Healthcare CenterAuburn, CA D
March 5, 2026Santa Anita Convalescent HospitalTemple City, CA D
January 13, 2026Temple City HealthcareTemple City, CA D
December 11, 2025Rancho Bellagio Post AcuteMoreno Valley, CA D
December 6, 2025Sunset Rehabilitation and Health CareCanton, IL D
November 21, 2025Country Care ManorLa Vernia, TX D
November 12, 2025Meadville Convalescent HomeMeadville, MS E
November 3, 2025Forest Hills CenterColumbus, OH D
August 18, 2025Adviniacare Newport, LLCNewport, RI E
August 6, 2025Careone at MoorestownMoorestown, NJ D
June 26, 2025Rehabilitation and Nursing Center of the RockiesFort Collins, CO D
June 13, 2025West Hills Health and Rehabilitation CenterCanoga Park, CA D
June 11, 2025Kinnic Health and Rehabilitation CenterRiver Falls, WI D

F555 citations by state

Counts depend on how many homes a state has and how often its inspectors visit, so a larger number is not by itself a worse record.

StateCitations
California15
Colorado5
Missouri5
Texas5
Ohio4
Wisconsin3
Michigan2
Montana2
Puerto Rico2
Virginia2
Washington2
Alaska1
Illinois1
Massachusetts1
Maryland1
Mississippi1
New Jersey1
New Mexico1
Oregon1
Rhode Island1

By inspection year: 2018 1, 2021 1, 2022 1, 2023 2, 2024 22, 2025 14, 2026 15.

Common questions

What is F555 in a nursing home inspection?
F555 is the federal requirement to "honor the resident's right to choose his or her attending physician". CMS files it under resident rights. A home cited under F555 did not meet that requirement at the inspection.
How often is F555 cited?
The CMS files as of September 1, 2026 list 56 F555 citations at 55 nursing homes, 20 of them in the 12 months to that date. 0.0% were rated as actual harm or immediate jeopardy.
Is a F555 citation serious?
It depends on the letter. Most F555 citations (96.4%) 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

Find a nursing home Read an inspection