F639: Maintain 15 months of resident assessments in the resident's active clinical record
F639 is one of the federal requirements every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home must meet. CMS describes it as: Maintain 15 months of resident assessments in the resident's active clinical record.
It sits in CMS's resident assessment and care planning 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 F639 citations came from a complaint visit rather than a routine inspection.
By letter: B 1, C 1, D 1, E 3.
What inspectors wrote
Three recent F639 citations from different states, quoted from the inspectors' statements of deficiencies (CMS form 2567). Names are removed by CMS.
Inspectors wrote, February 9, 2024, scope and severity EBased on interview and record review, facility failed to obtain and retain all resident assessment for hospice (care that is focused on the comfort and quality of life for a person with a serious illness who is approaching the end of life) care in residents active record for one of three sampled residents (Resident 44). This deficient practice had the potential for the resident not receiving needed care according to assessment and care plans.
Burlington Convalescent Hospital, Los Angeles, CA
Inspectors wrote, February 1, 2024, scope and severity EBased on observation, interview, and record review, the facility failed to ensure the Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessments completed within the previous 15 months were in the resident's active record to allow access to licensed staff.
Concordia Nursing & Rehab, LLC, Bella Vista, AR
Most recent F639 citations
| Inspection | Home | Town | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 25, 2024 | Rest Haven Health Care Center | Sedalia, MO | C |
| March 8, 2024 | San Jose Nursing Center | San Antonio, TX | E |
| February 21, 2024 | Masonicare at Bishop Wicke Health & Rehabilitation | Shelton, CT | B |
| February 9, 2024 | Burlington Convalescent Hospital | Los Angeles, CA | E |
| February 1, 2024 | Concordia Nursing & Rehab, LLC | Bella Vista, AR | E |
| February 9, 2023 | Rosewood Health Facility | Bakersfield, CA | D |
F639 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.
| State | Citations |
|---|---|
| California | 2 |
| Arkansas | 1 |
| Connecticut | 1 |
| Missouri | 1 |
| Texas | 1 |
By inspection year: 2023 1, 2024 5.
Common questions
- What is F639 in a nursing home inspection?
- F639 is the federal requirement to "maintain 15 months of resident assessments in the resident's active clinical record". CMS files it under resident assessment and care planning. A home cited under F639 did not meet that requirement at the inspection.
- How often is F639 cited?
- The CMS files as of September 1, 2026 list 6 F639 citations at 6 nursing homes, 0 of them in the 12 months to that date. 0.0% were rated as actual harm or immediate jeopardy.
- Is a F639 citation serious?
- It depends on the letter. Most F639 citations (66.7%) 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