Ownership Submission
FORM 3
 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  WAHL Theodore
 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
01/12/2009		 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
HEALTHCARE SERVICES GROUP INC [HCSG]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
3220 TILLMAN DRIVE, SUITE 300		 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
Vice President Finance
 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

BENSALEM, PA 19020		 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)		 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Common stock 1,600
D
 
Common stock 1,600
I
Held by spouse
Common stock 1,600
I
Held by child

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)		 3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Phantom stock (1) 01/01/2010   (2) common stock 445 $ (3) D  
Stock option 06/30/2006 12/30/2010 common stock 1,200 $ 13.8067 D  
Stock option 01/03/2009 01/03/2018 common stock 400 $ 20.89 D  
Stock option 01/03/2010 01/03/2018 common stock 400 $ 20.89 D  
Stock option 01/03/2011 01/03/2018 common stock 400 $ 20.89 D  
Stock option 01/03/2012 01/03/2018 common stock 400 $ 20.89 D  
Stock option 01/03/2013 01/03/2018 common stock 400 $ 20.89 D  
Stock option 01/05/2010 01/05/2019 common stock 1,000 $ 15.58 D  
Stock option 01/05/2011 01/05/2019 common stock 1,000 $ 15.58 D  
Stock option 01/05/2012 01/05/2019 common stock 1,000 $ 15.58 D  
Stock option 01/05/2013 01/05/2019 common stock 1,000 $ 15.58 D  
Stock option 01/05/2014 01/05/2019 common stock 1,000 $ 15.58 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
WAHL Theodore
3220 TILLMAN DRIVE
SUITE 300
BENSALEM, PA 19020		       Vice President Finance  

Signatures

/s/ Theodore Wahl 01/16/2009
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) ACQUIRED PURSANT TO AN ISSUER CONTRIBUTION UNDER THE HEALTHCARE SERVICES GROUP, INC DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN
(2) SHARES OF PHANTOM STOCK ARE PAYABLE IN KIND FOLLOWING TERMINATION OF THE REPORTING PERSON'S EMPLOYMENT WITH ISSUER
(3) SHARES ISSUED AT CONVERSION RATE OF 1 FOR 1

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