F916: Ensure each resident has a room at or above ground level
F916 is one of the federal requirements every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home must meet. CMS describes it as: Ensure each resident has a room at or above ground level.
It sits in CMS's environmental 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 F916 citations came from a complaint visit rather than a routine inspection.
By letter: B 7, E 3.
What inspectors wrote
Three recent F916 citations from different states, quoted from the inspectors' statements of deficiencies (CMS form 2567). Names are removed by CMS.
Inspectors wrote, August 6, 2025, scope and severity EBased on observation, interview, and record review the facility failed to ensure residents'' rooms were located at or above ground level which applies to 24 of 62 residents (R6, R12, R14, R15, R26, R29, R34, R41, R51, R53, R55, R63, R66, R70, R73, R78, R79, R81, R83, R85, R90. R113, R114, R115) reviewed for facility enviorment in a sample of 62.
Alta Rehab at Oak Brook, Oak Brook, IL
Most recent F916 citations
| Inspection | Home | Town | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 6, 2025 | Alta Rehab at Oak Brook | Oak Brook, IL | E |
| February 21, 2025 | Abbington Vlge Nrsg & Rhb Ctr | Roselle, IL | E |
| November 1, 2024 | Wheaton Village Nrsg & Rhb Ctr | Wheaton, IL | B |
| July 19, 2024 | Alta Rehab at Oak Brook | Oak Brook, IL | B |
| July 2, 2024 | Optalis Health and Rehabilitation of Allen Park | Allen Park, MI | B |
| March 8, 2024 | Abbington Vlge Nrsg & Rhb Ctr | Roselle, IL | B |
| November 2, 2023 | Wheaton Village Nrsg & Rhb Ctr | Wheaton, IL | E |
| July 12, 2023 | Optalis Health and Rehabilitation of Allen Park | Allen Park, MI | B |
| May 11, 2023 | Alta Rehab at Oak Brook | Oak Brook, IL | B |
| November 3, 2022 | Wheaton Village Nrsg & Rhb Ctr | Wheaton, IL | B |
Common questions
- What is F916 in a nursing home inspection?
- F916 is the federal requirement to "ensure each resident has a room at or above ground level". CMS files it under environmental. A home cited under F916 did not meet that requirement at the inspection.
- How often is F916 cited?
- The CMS files as of September 1, 2026 list 10 F916 citations at 4 nursing homes, 0 of them in the 12 months to that date. 0.0% were rated as actual harm or immediate jeopardy.
- Is a F916 citation serious?
- It depends on the letter. Most F916 citations (30.0%) 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