Dietary Director Requirements Under F801

I frequently receive questions regarding the requirements for the dietary director under the F801 tag, so I thought it would be beneficial to review this regulation in this month’s survey trends report.  

The nursing home is required 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 the resident population in accordance with the facility assessment.

This includes:

A qualified dietitian or other clinically qualified nutrition professional either full-time, part-time, or on a consultant basis. A qualified dietitian or other clinically qualified nutrition professional is one who –

• Holds a bachelor’s or higher degree granted by a regionally accredited college or university in the United States (or an equivalent foreign degree) with completion of the academic requirements of a program in nutrition or dietetics accredited by an appropriate national accreditation organization recognized for this purpose.
• Has completed at least 900 hours of supervised dietetics practice under the supervision of a registered dietitian or nutrition professional.
• Is licensed or certified as a dietitian or nutrition professional by the State in which the services are performed. In a State that does not provide for licensure or certification, the individual will be deemed to have met this requirement if he or she is recognized as a “registered dietitian” by the Commission on Dietetic Registration or its successor organization, or meets the requirements above.

If a qualified dietitian or other clinically qualified nutrition professional is not employed full-time (the interpretative guidance defines full-time as 35 or more hours per week), the nursing home must designate a person to serve as the director of food and nutrition services. The director of food and nutrition services must at a minimum meet one of the following qualifications –

• A certified dietary manager
• A certified food service manager
• Has similar national certification for food service management and safety from a national certifying body
• Has an associate’s or higher degree in food service management or in hospitality, if the course study includes food service or restaurant management, from an accredited institution of higher learning
• Has 2 or more years of experience in the position of director of food and nutrition services in a nursing home setting and has completed a course of study in food safety and management by no later than October 1, 2023, that includes topics integral to managing dietary operations including, but not limited to, foodborne illness, sanitation procedures, and food purchasing/receiving.

In States that have established standards for food service managers or dietary managers meets State requirements for food service managers or dietary managers (DIA has expressed intention to revise the administrative rules to mirror the federal regulations), and

Receives frequently scheduled consultations from a qualified dietitian or other clinically qualified nutrition professional.