A citation is supposed to be a one-time event: the surveyor finds a problem, the facility writes a plan of correction, and the problem goes away. The CMS data says otherwise. Of the 8,023 nursing homes cited for at least one electrical safety deficiency across their last three Life Safety Code surveys, 2,571 (32.0%) were cited for the same electrical tag on more than one survey.
Which Electrical Tags Repeat Most
| Tag | What it covers | Facilities ever cited | Cited on 2+ surveys | Repeat rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| K920 | Power strips & extension cords | 5,345 | 1,857 | 34.7% |
| K919 | Use of electrical equipment | 926 | 190 | 20.5% |
| K921 | PCREE testing & maintenance | 1,750 | 354 | 20.2% |
| K914 | Bedside receptacles | 2,539 | 367 | 14.5% |
| K911 | Electrical systems | 1,289 | 130 | 10.1% |
| K912 | Receptacle grounding | 741 | 64 | 8.6% |
Power strips lead by a wide margin: more than a third of facilities cited under K920 were cited for it again. One in five facilities cited under K921 repeated too.
Why the Same Citations Keep Coming Back
- The fix was a one-time cleanup, not a process. Pulling every bad power strip the week after a survey fixes the citation, but new ones come in with every admission and every holiday.
- Testing happened once and then lapsed. K921 often returns because the facility tested everything after the citation and then never scheduled the next round.
- New equipment skips the process. Rentals, loaners, hospice-supplied equipment and replacement beds arrive between surveys without incoming testing.
- Turnover erases the memory. The maintenance director who wrote the plan of correction leaves, and the system leaves with them.
How to Break the Cycle
- Turn the plan of correction into a calendar. Every corrective action that's recurring (testing, audits, rounds) needs a next date and an owner.
- Audit monthly for K920. A 20-minute walk with an audit sheet catches power strip problems before surveyors do.
- Add incoming testing to receiving. No patient care electrical equipment goes into a resident room without a test record.
- Keep the inventory current. A complete inventory is what makes the next annual round complete.
- Re-test after every repair, and document it.
Free: Power Strip & Extension Cord Audit Sheet
The room-by-room sheet for K920, the electrical tag most likely to come back.
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Check your building: look up your facility to see its electrical citations and estimated next survey window.
Related: what a K921 citation means and electrical citations by state.
Source: PCREETest.com analysis of the CMS Provider Data Catalog, Nursing Homes: Fire Safety Deficiencies and Provider Information (processed September 2026). Repeat rates use each facility's last three Life Safety Code survey cycles in the CMS file; a repeat is the same tag cited on two or more distinct survey dates.
Make this the last time K921 shows up on your survey.
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About the Author
PCREE Test Editorial Team
Content reviewed by biomedical professionals with experience in patient care electrical equipment testing, NFPA 99 compliance, and CMS Life Safety survey preparation for skilled nursing facilities.