F800: Provide each resident with a nourishing, palatable, well-balanced diet that meets his or her daily nutritional and special dietary needs
F800 is one of the federal requirements every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home must meet. CMS describes it as: Provide each resident with a nourishing, palatable, well-balanced diet that meets his or her daily nutritional and special dietary needs.
It sits in CMS's nutrition and dietary 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). 27.1% of F800 citations came from a complaint visit rather than a routine inspection.
By letter: B 2, D 277, E 184, F 69, G 1, J 1, L 1.
What inspectors wrote
Three recent F800 citations from different states, quoted from the inspectors' statements of deficiencies (CMS form 2567). Names are removed by CMS.
Inspectors wrote, July 31, 2026, scope and severity DBased on observations, interviews, and record reviews, the facility failed to ensure residents' meals were served according to their nutritional needs, special dietary needs, and preferences for 4 (Resident #R4, Resident #R5, Resident #R6, Resident #R7) of 6 residents investigated for dietary services.
St. Bernard Nursing & Rehab, New Orleans, LA
Inspectors wrote, July 30, 2026, scope and severity DBased on interview, observation, record review, and policy review, the facility failed to provide the dietary staff initial and ongoing education regarding a physician-ordered gluten-free diet, ensure menus were developed, and that an early breakfast was provided before a morning medical appointment for one of one sampled resident (48) to enable the resident to make food choices that he preferred and that his nutritional needs were met.
Good Samaritan Society - St. Martin Village, Rapid City, SD
Inspectors wrote, July 1, 2026, scope and severity DBased on observation, interview, and record review, the facility failed to communication and coordination between the staff with all departments special dietary for 1 of 1 sampled residents (Resident #1).
Elderwood at Burlington, Burlington, VT
Most recent F800 citations at the harm or jeopardy level
Newest first, all 3 in the current files. Each home's page shows the citation in full context, with its correction status.
| Inspection | Home | Town | Letter | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1, 2026 | Landmark of Itasca Rehabilitation and Nursing Cent | Itasca, IL | L | Complaint |
| January 18, 2024 | Regency at the Park | College Place, WA | G | Standard |
| December 16, 2022 | Serenethos Care Center, LLC | Hayward, CA | J | Standard |
Most recent F800 citations
F800 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.
By inspection year: 2018 3, 2019 24, 2020 6, 2021 26, 2022 54, 2023 79, 2024 156, 2025 105, 2026 82.
Common questions
- What is F800 in a nursing home inspection?
- F800 is the federal requirement to "provide each resident with a nourishing, palatable, well-balanced diet that meets his or her daily nutritional and special dietary needs". CMS files it under nutrition and dietary. A home cited under F800 did not meet that requirement at the inspection.
- How often is F800 cited?
- The CMS files as of September 1, 2026 list 535 F800 citations at 522 nursing homes, 103 of them in the 12 months to that date. 0.6% were rated as actual harm or immediate jeopardy.
- Is a F800 citation serious?
- It depends on the letter. Most F800 citations (99.1%) were rated as potential for more than minimal harm, D to F. 2 were immediate jeopardy, the most serious 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