How we rate

Every label on this site is computed from Colorado state inspection records — nothing else. This page is the complete method. If you find an error, email hello@thefamilyshortlist.com and we will respond within 72 hours.

The labels

Labels are our own — CDPHE does not assign them. What the state does assign is a severity Level to every cited deficiency, under 6 CCR 1011-1 Chapter 7, section 3.12:

• Level A — isolated potential for harm
• Level B — a pattern of potential for harm
• Level C — isolated actual harm
• Level D — a pattern of actual harm
• Level E — Immediate Jeopardy: actual or potential serious injury or harm. This is the most serious finding Colorado issues.

Our labels group those Levels the way the regulation itself divides them: section 3.13 singles out Level E, section 3.17 attaches fines to Levels C, D and E, and section 3.16 leaves Levels A and B to intermediate restrictions. We look at a trailing 24-month window, boundary inclusive, and the most serious Level cited in that window sets the label.

• ○ IMMEDIATE JEOPARDY CITED (LEVEL E) — READ THE REPORT

  At least one Level E deficiency in the window. The facility stays listed — we never hide anyone — and its page points you at the state report so you can read exactly what happened. A residence may well have corrected it since; the report is how you find out.

• ◒ ACTUAL HARM CITED (LEVEL C–D)

  At least one Level C or D deficiency, and no Level E. Colorado defines these as harm that actually affected a resident.

• ◔ POTENTIAL FOR HARM CITED (LEVEL A–B)

  At least one Level A or B deficiency, and nothing more serious. Colorado defines these as a potential for harm rather than harm that occurred; many are procedural. It is a prompt to read and ask, not a warning to stay away.

• ● CLEAN 24-MONTH RECORD

  A full state survey inside the window cited nothing, and the residence has been licensed at least 24 months — long enough for the record to mean something. A follow-up “revisit” survey alone does not earn this: a revisit checks that one earlier finding was corrected, which is not the same as a clean full survey.

• ◐ LIMITED HISTORY — LICENSED [DATE]

  No citations, but licensed under 24 months. Too new to call clean; not a mark against the facility.

• INSPECTION HISTORY PENDING

  We cannot yet support any of the labels above for this residence, and we say so rather than guessing. Each facility page gives the specific reason — most often that Colorado has supplied how many deficiencies were cited but not the severity Level of each one, and a Level A finding and a Level E finding must never print alike.

Deficiencies with no severity Level recorded never produce a label in either direction. Facilities cannot pay to be listed, ranked, featured, or to change any label — and there is no way to buy placement anywhere on this site.

Sources and update cadence

Facility facts come from the CDPHE Health Facilities open dataset (current build: 2026-08-19). Citation histories are being obtained from CDPHE’s data team and will link to underlying state reports at CDPHE Find & Compare. We rebuild roughly monthly and every page shows its data-as-of date.

What we don’t measure

Colorado does not centrally track compliance with the dementia-specific staff training law (SB 22-079) — the state confirmed to us that facilities track it themselves. No website can look this up for you, which is why every facility page includes it as a tour question: the only reliable way to learn it is to ask.

We also cannot see current bed availability, staffing on any given day, or price. Licensed capacity comes from state data; everything else is a phone call.