CMS certification 060011
Denver Health & Hospital Authority
777 Bannock St, Denver, CO 80204
Denver Health & Hospital Authority has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. 72% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 19 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 1 and worse on 1. Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 28 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min).
Every figure on this page is published by CMS; we arrange and explain it, and score nothing ourselves.
What patients said
Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 3,092 completed surveys, 24% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.
Emergency department
How long emergency patients spent here and how some time-critical care went, from CMS's timely and effective care measures, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025. CMS classes this emergency department's patient volume as very high; busier departments tend to have longer times, so the national median for departments of the same volume is shown too. These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
| Measure | This hospital | CO | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 362 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 21 min | 3 h 28 min | 2 h 14 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 42 visits sampled | 5 h 10 min | 3 h 55 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 103,128 patients | 4% | 1% | 2% |
| Stroke symptoms: brain scan read within 45 minutes Higher is better · 11 patients | 45% | 66% | 69% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 137 patients | 55% | 72% | 65% |
How Denver Health & Hospital Authority compares with nearby hospitals
The closest hospitals of the same kind that CMS rates or surveys - the same city first, then the same county and ZIP area. Every figure is CMS's: the overall star rating, the share of patients who would definitely recommend the hospital, the median time emergency patients spent before leaving, and how many death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS found better or worse than the national rate.
| Hospital | CMS stars | Would recommend | ER median time | Vs the nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver Health & Hospital AuthorityThis hospital | 3/5 | 72% | 3 h 28 min | 1 better 1 worse |
| AdventHealth PorterSame city | 4/5 | 65% | 3 h 19 min | 4 better |
| HCA HealthOne Presbyterian St. LukesSame city | 2/5 | 69% | 2 h 1 min | 1 better 2 worse |
| Saint Joseph HospitalSame city | 5/5 | 80% | 2 h 45 min | 3 better |
| HCA Healthone RoseSame city | 4/5 | 75% | 2 h 10 min | 1 better 2 worse |
| Centura Health-St Anthony HospitalSame ZIP area · Lakewood | 4/5 | 66% | 3 h 32 min | 5 better 2 worse |
Hospitals differ in size and in how sick their patients are. CMS adjusts its outcome measures for that, but a star or a percentage is a starting point for questions, not a verdict. All hospitals in Denver.
Deaths
How many patients died within 30 days of admission, adjusted by CMS for how sick they were. Lower is better. Data from Jul 2022 – Jun 2025.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| All patients, hospital-wide 1,552 cases | Too few cases | 3.6% | 3.9% |
| Heart failure 45 cases | Too few cases | 11.2% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 59 cases | Too few cases | 13.3% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 75 cases | Too few cases | 10.1% | 11.9% |
| COPD 36 cases | Too few cases | 7.4% | 8.6% |
2 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Complications
How often patients had serious complications, most of them after surgery, adjusted for how sick they were. Lower is better. Data from Jul 2022 – Jun 2024.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serious complications, combined measure | No different | 1.16 likely 0.76 – 1.56 | 1 |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 44 cases | No different | 169.32 per 1,000 likely 110.51 per 1,000 – 228.13 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 1,371 cases | No different | 0.6 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 1.49 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 1,688 cases | No different | 0.19 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.42 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 1,601 cases | No different | 0.25 per 1,000 likely 0.04 per 1,000 – 0.47 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 413 cases | No different | 2.37 per 1,000 likely 0.73 per 1,000 – 4 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 85 cases | No different | 2.09 per 1,000 likely 0.38 per 1,000 – 3.8 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 80 cases | No different | 14.09 per 1,000 likely 5.28 per 1,000 – 22.89 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 453 cases | No different | 3.68 per 1,000 likely 1.3 per 1,000 – 6.06 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 84 cases | No different | 5.62 per 1,000 likely 1.49 per 1,000 – 9.76 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 63 cases | No different | 2.04 per 1,000 likely 0.54 per 1,000 – 3.55 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 279 cases | No different | 1.55 per 1,000 likely 0.49 per 1,000 – 2.61 per 1,000 | 1.06 per 1,000 |
1 more measure had too few cases here to report.
Infections caught in the hospital
Standardized infection ratio: 1.0 means as many infections as CMS predicted for a hospital like this one. Lower is better. Data from Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) | Better | 0.36 likely 0.11 – 0.87 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | No different | 0.75 likely 0.41 – 1.28 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 0.95 likely 0.24 – 2.59 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 0.65 likely 0.21 – 1.56 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.21 likely 0.13 – 0.33 | 1 |
1 more measure had too few cases here to report.
Readmissions and return visits
How often patients had to come back to a hospital after going home. Lower is better. Data from Jul 2023 – Jun 2025.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Readmitted after a heart attack 62 cases | Too few cases | 14.9% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 237 cases | Too few cases | 21.3% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 265 cases | Too few cases | 16.1% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 145 cases | Too few cases | 19% | 20% |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 52 cases | Too few cases | -35 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 71 cases | Too few cases | 79.8 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 205 cases | No different | 12.8 per 1,000 likely 9.4 per 1,000 – 17.3 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 26 cases | No different | 11.6 per 100 likely 8.1 per 100 – 16.8 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 26 cases | No different | 5 per 100 likely 3.2 per 100 – 7.9 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 62 cases | No different | 1 likely 0.7 – 1.4 | — |
4 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
1,636 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry, plus 88 residents and trainees. The same address can take in offices and clinics in the building, and a listing does not prove admitting privileges or current employment.
| Specialty | Clinicians |
|---|---|
| Emergency Medicine | 142 |
| Clinical | 140 |
| Physician Assistant | 105 |
| Family Medicine | 71 |
| Internal Medicine | 69 |
| Pediatrics | 68 |
| Family | 57 |
| Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered | 48 |
| Hospitalist | 45 |
| Advanced Practice Midwife | 42 |
| Psychiatry | 38 |
| Professional | 37 |
First 12 alphabetically
Money from drug and device companies
Drug and device makers have to report what they pay teaching hospitals to CMS's Open Payments program. At many teaching hospitals most of it is research funding, or royalties for inventions the hospital licensed to a company. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.
- 2019 $7M
- 2020 $9.3M
- 2021 $9.6M
- 2022 $7.6M
- 2023 $7.7M
- 2024 $6.4M
- 2025 $8.2M
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Consulting fees | $4.9M | 196 |
| Speaking, teaching and other services | $2.5M | 51 |
| Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan | $43,000 | 2 |
| Grants | $4,200 | 1 |
| Space rental and facility fees | $2,800 | 2 |
| Debt forgiveness | $504 | 1 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Purdue Pharma L.P. | $1.7M | 14 |
| Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. | $1M | 11 |
| Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC | $910,771 | 5 |
| Exelixis Inc. | $849,682 | 13 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | $848,129 | 13 |
| Indivior Inc. | $469,974 | 7 |
| Mallinckrodt LLC | $392,309 | 9 |
| Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | $386,791 | 19 |
Largest research studies funded here, 2025
| Study | Amount |
|---|---|
| Opioid / BTOD REMS Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA | $239,443 |
| RADARS Mylan Inc. | $121,113 |
| Partial REBOA Outcomes Multicenter Prospective PROMPT Study Prytime Medical Devices, Inc. | $100,602 |
| Opioid Analgesic REMS Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. | $40,636 |
| Phase 2, proof-of-concept, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, multicenter study to assess efficacy and safety of reparixin as add-on th… Dompe Farmaceutici S.p.A. | $39,211 |
| Starling Registry Baxter Healthcare · NCT04648293 | $26,417 |
| To Compare the Efficacy and Safety of the ATEV With AVF in Female Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease Requiring Hemodialysis Humacyte Global, Inc. · NCT05908084 | $25,392 |
| Reparixin 1200 mg three times a day as add-on therapy to standard of care to limit disease progression in hospitalised adult patients with COVID-19 a… Dompe Farmaceutici S.p.A. | $23,158 |
Amounts are as the paying companies reported them to CMS; Open Payments data retrieved 13 Sep 2026. Full record on CMS Open Payments.
How to read this page
- Everything here is published by CMS on Care Compare. We arrange it and explain it; the star ratings and the better / worse verdicts are CMS's, not ours.
- “No different” is the most common result on most measures at most hospitals. CMS only calls a result better or worse when the difference from the national rate is statistically clear.
- Death, complication and readmission rates are adjusted by CMS for how sick patients were, so hospitals that treat sicker patients can be compared fairly.
- Infection results are ratios: 1.0 means as many infections as CMS predicted for a hospital like this one, below 1.0 is fewer.
- These are hospital-wide results. They do not rate an individual doctor, nurse or department, and they are not medical advice.
CMS Care Compare data retrieved 4 Oct 2026, refreshed weekly. Where this data comes from and how we handle it · Report an error
Common questions about Denver Health & Hospital Authority
Is Denver Health & Hospital Authority a good hospital?
Denver Health & Hospital Authority has a CMS overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. Of the 19 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 1 and worse on 1. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend Denver Health & Hospital Authority?
72% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 3,092 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the Denver Health & Hospital Authority emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 3 h 28 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min). Among US emergency departments with very high patient volume, like this one, the median is 3 h 21 min. 4% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does Denver Health & Hospital Authority receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $8.2M in payments to Denver Health & Hospital Authority for 2025, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.