F808: Ensure therapeutic diets are prescribed by the attending physician and may be delegated to a registered or licensed dietitian, to the extent allowed by State law
F808 is one of the federal requirements every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home must meet. CMS describes it as: Ensure therapeutic diets are prescribed by the attending physician and may be delegated to a registered or licensed dietitian, to the extent allowed by State law.
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). 22.8% of F808 citations came from a complaint visit rather than a routine inspection.
By letter: B 3, D 537, E 150, F 5, J 6, K 1.
What inspectors wrote
Three recent F808 citations from different states, quoted from the inspectors' statements of deficiencies (CMS form 2567). Names are removed by CMS.
Inspectors wrote, July 20, 2026, scope and severity DBased on observations, clinical record review, and resident and staff interviews, it was revealed that the facility failed to ensure that one of 3 residents reviewed received a therapeutic diet per physician order (Resident 1).
Transitions Healthcare Gettysburg, Gettysburg, PA
Inspectors wrote, July 17, 2026, scope and severity DBased on observation, interview, and record review, the facility failed to ensure one (1) of 1 sampled resident (Resident 18) reviewed for nutrition was provided with a therapeutic diet (a diet ordered by a physician as part of treatment for a disease or clinical condition, or to eliminate or decrease specific nutrients in the diet or to increase specific nutrients in the diet, or to provide food the resident is able to eat such as mechanically altered diet [diet where the texture of the food is changed so it is easier and safer to chew and swallow for people with swallowing or chewing difficulties]) as indicated on the physician's order and facility's policy and procedure (P&P). [...]
Alhambra Hospital Med Ctr Dp/SNF, Alhambra, CA
Inspectors wrote, July 13, 2026, scope and severity DBased on medical record review, staff interview, resident interview and policy review, the facility failed to ensure residents received fortified foods as ordered. This affected one (#41) of one resident identified on fortified foods. The facility census was 82.
Heatherdowns Rehab & Residential Care Center, Toledo, OH
Most recent F808 citations at the harm or jeopardy level
Newest first, all 7 in the current files. Each home's page shows the citation in full context, with its correction status.
| Inspection | Home | Town | Letter | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 28, 2026 | Emmanuel Nursing Home | Detroit Lakes, MN | J | Complaint |
| March 28, 2025 | Masonic Village at Burlington | Burlington, NJ | K | Complaint |
| November 27, 2024 | The Subacute at Autumn Lake Healthcare | Voorhees, NJ | J | Complaint |
| October 17, 2024 | Alden Estates Cts of Huntley | Huntley, IL | J | Complaint |
| October 15, 2024 | Masonic Village at Burlington | Burlington, NJ | J | Complaint |
| October 9, 2023 | Fleetwood Post Acute | Easley, SC | J | Complaint |
| May 20, 2023 | Mount Holly Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center | Lumberton, NJ | J | Standard |
Most recent F808 citations
F808 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 19, 2020 10, 2021 24, 2022 44, 2023 143, 2024 205, 2025 158, 2026 96.
Common questions
- What is F808 in a nursing home inspection?
- F808 is the federal requirement to "ensure therapeutic diets are prescribed by the attending physician and may be delegated to a registered or licensed dietitian, to the extent allowed by state law". CMS files it under nutrition and dietary. A home cited under F808 did not meet that requirement at the inspection.
- How often is F808 cited?
- The CMS files as of September 1, 2026 list 702 F808 citations at 655 nursing homes, 134 of them in the 12 months to that date. 1.0% were rated as actual harm or immediate jeopardy.
- Is a F808 citation serious?
- It depends on the letter. Most F808 citations (98.6%) were rated as potential for more than minimal harm, D to F. 7 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