F802: Provide sufficient support personnel to safely and effectively carry out the functions of the food and nutrition service
F802 is one of the federal requirements every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home must meet. CMS describes it as: Provide sufficient support personnel to safely and effectively carry out the functions of the food and nutrition service.
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). 16.6% of F802 citations came from a complaint visit rather than a routine inspection.
By letter: B 1, C 2, D 178, E 321, F 314, G 1, J 1, K 1, L 1.
What inspectors wrote
Three recent F802 citations from different states, quoted from the inspectors' statements of deficiencies (CMS form 2567). Names are removed by CMS.
Inspectors wrote, July 23, 2026, scope and severity DBased on interview and record reviews, the facility failed to employ sufficient staff with the appropriate competencies and skills sets to carry out the functions of the food and nutrition service, taking into consideration resident assessments, individual plans of care and the number, acuity and diagnoses of all the facility's resident population in accordance with the facility dietary staff. The facility failed to ensure there were sufficient kitchen staff to timely carry out the functions of lunch services on 07/17/26. This failure could place residents who consumed food prepared from the kitchen at-risk of foodborne illness or nutritional deficiencies.
Focused Care at Sherman, Sherman, TX
Inspectors wrote, July 16, 2026, scope and severity FBased on interview and document review, the facility failed to ensure sufficient dietary staff were available to prepare and serve meals in accordance with the planned menu and residents' physician-ordered diets for 5 of 5 residents (R1, R61, R52, R62, R23) interviewed regarding food services. This had the potential to affect all 68 residents resided in the facility.
The Estates at Lynnhurst LLC, Saint Paul, MN
Inspectors wrote, July 15, 2026, scope and severity ELicensure Reference Number 175 NAC 12-006.04(H) Based on record reviews, interviews and observations, the facility failed to serve meals in a timely manner based on the facility's posted time for meals. This had the potential to affect all residents who ate meals in the dining rooms. The facility census was 52.
Good Samaritan Society - Hastings Village, Hastings, NE
Most recent F802 citations at the harm or jeopardy level
Newest first, all 4 in the current files. Each home's page shows the citation in full context, with its correction status.
| Inspection | Home | Town | Letter | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 3, 2025 | Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Palmyra | Palmyra, PA | L | Standard |
| November 13, 2024 | Bella Terra St. George (black Rock Health and Rehab | St. George, UT | G | Complaint |
| May 19, 2023 | Aviata at Shoal Creek | Crestview, FL | J | Standard |
| February 8, 2023 | Crestview Health & Rehabilitation | Mooresville, NC | K | Standard |
Most recent F802 citations
F802 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 30, 2020 5, 2021 46, 2022 82, 2023 146, 2024 241, 2025 167, 2026 100.
Common questions
- What is F802 in a nursing home inspection?
- F802 is the federal requirement to "provide sufficient support personnel to safely and effectively carry out the functions of the food and nutrition service". CMS files it under nutrition and dietary. A home cited under F802 did not meet that requirement at the inspection.
- How often is F802 cited?
- The CMS files as of September 1, 2026 list 820 F802 citations at 743 nursing homes, 140 of them in the 12 months to that date. 0.5% were rated as actual harm or immediate jeopardy.
- Is a F802 citation serious?
- It depends on the letter. Most F802 citations (99.1%) were rated as potential for more than minimal harm, D to F. 3 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