How To File A Complaint Against An Assisted Living Facility in Colorado

I was contacted by a writer for US NEWS & WORLD REPORT a few years ago. She found our site and wanted to ask us why there was so little information or direction online regarding filing complaints (specifically anonymously) against healthcare facilities, including assisted living.

I explained to her about the importance of having transparent methods for seniors and families to file complaints if they believe their health, safety or privacy are being compromised.

I also explained that I believe that having an anonymous method available to residents is imperative. Residents often fear retaliation or consequences if they are ‘outed’ for filing a complaint against a facility – and thus often remain silent in the face of substandard care, abuse or privacy concerns.

Fortunately, in Colorado, there are very straightforward ways that a resident or family member can file a complaint – and do so anonymously.

Colorado Assisted Living

How To File A Complaint in Colorado

Visiting the Colorado Department of Health & Environment website, you’ll see a very obvious ‘file a complaint’ banner that looks like this:

CDPHE

Visiting the “File a complaint‘ section, you’ll be greeted to a page that lists a number of different ways you can file a complaint against a healthcare facility in Colorado, including assisted living, nursing homes and residential care homes.

Colorado’s Safest Facilities

Colorado Complaints

In the left sidebar (at the time of this writing) you’ll see a link to “Complaint and Occurrence Contacts” which will take you to a page that has a list of contacts, depending on the type of facility you wish to file a complaint against, as well as email addresses, and fax numbers.

The page at this time looks like this:

Complaints Contacts

At this time, unfortunately, there is not an online form that we could find to submit a complaint in Colorado.

Finding a Facility in Colorado

If you need specific facility information or details to include with your report, you can visit the “Find and Compare Facilities” database on the CDPHE site. To research assisted living or Long Term Care in Colorado, visit our Colorado Assisted Living Research Guide.

Lastly, a great resource for any senior or family to use is the Colorado Assisted Living Association. Here you have access to Advocacy resources, facility information, and educational materials.