Licenses, red flags, and how to complain (Colorado assisted living)
Last reviewed: August 27, 2026
This page is for adult children on Colorado’s Western Slope who need to check a license, spot problems, and know who to call. It is educational only. It is not legal advice, placement advice, or a recommendation of any home.
This directory is a separate business from High Desert Assisted Living in Clifton, Colorado. Jason and Laura Cheney operate both; the directory is not an official state list and is not a CDPHE, HCPF, or Medicare rating tool. Nothing on this page is a recommendation of that home.
The short version
Before you tour or sign, confirm the place is a CDPHE-licensed Assisted Living Residence on Find and Compare Facilities. That tool shows the last three years of surveys and self-reported occurrences. It is not a star-rating system and it does not rank a “best home.”
Medicare Care Compare is for Medicare facilities only. Colorado assisted living is a state license. Do not use Care Compare to shop these homes.
If a house is giving three or more unrelated adults room and board plus personal services, protective oversight, social care, and 24-hour supervision, Colorado treats it as an assisted living residence. It is supposed to be licensed, whatever the brochure says. Operating without that license is unlawful under the official 2024 Colorado statute (CRS 25-27-103). This page does not claim later amendments.
The ombudsman is a free, confidential advocate. The ombudsman does not license or fine homes. CDPHE is the regulator: it licenses, surveys, investigates, and can cite. Use both.
How to use Find and Compare
Start here: cdphe.colorado.gov/health-facilities/find-and-compare-facilities
- Open the landing page and click through to the Find and compare healthcare facilities tool.
- Search the licensed name, then city or county (Mesa, Grand Junction, Clifton, Fruita, Palisade).
- Confirm it is an Assisted Living Residence, not a nursing home or a home-care agency.
- Open surveys from the last three years. Read the citation, the rule text, and the home’s plan of correction. Ask the administrator what changed.
- Open occurrences for the last three years. Occurrences are self-reported events. They are not the same as a CDPHE citation.
- If you cannot find a record you expected, CDPHE notes that some Medicare-system data may be missing during a CMS migration. Use the information-request form on that page.
The tool covers providers that are currently licensed by CDPHE, certified by HCPF, or federally certified by CMS. It is inspection and occurrence records, not a ranking and not a recommendation.
What it does not show
- Medicare star ratings for assisted living. CDPHE says Medicare comparison websites “only contain data on Medicare facilities.”
- A guarantee that every building marketed as senior housing will appear. A place providing assisted-living-level services without a license may simply be absent. That absence is a reason to call CDPHE and the ombudsman, not proof the place is “fine because it wasn’t cited.”
- Automatic proof that a listed home is an Alternative Care Facility (Medicaid). Ask the home in writing, and if Medicaid services may be needed, ask the Case Management Agency.
This page does not publish a Mesa County home count. Search the tool yourself.
What “no license” means
Colorado’s definition (Chapter 7, restated on CDPHE’s assisted living page) is a residence that offers three or more adults not related to the owner:
- room and board, and
- personal services (a safe setting, help with daily activities, help with transportation), and
- protective oversight (staff know a resident’s general whereabouts and watch the premises), and
- social care, and
- regular 24-hour supervision
— but not regular 24-hour medical or nursing care.
If a place is doing those things, it is an assisted living residence in Colorado’s eyes. “Board and care,” “senior home,” “room and board,” “adult living,” “supported care,” “small house,” or “we’re just a house” are marketing words, not a substitute for a CDPHE license. Marketing must accurately represent the care the home actually provides.
A Colorado Area Agency on Aging consumer guide marks independent living and some retirement communities as “No state license required” when they are housing (and maybe meals or activities) without 24-hour protective oversight. That guide is not a statute. If a building actually meets the assisted living definition, it still needs a license.
Operating without a license. The official 2024 Colorado Revised Statutes (Title 25 PDF) say that on or after July 1, 2002, it is unlawful to conduct or maintain an assisted living residence without a CDPHE license (CRS 25-27-103). A person who violates that provision commits a civil infraction and may be assessed a civil penalty of $50 to $100 for each day the residence is in violation. That is the 2024 official printout. This page does not claim 2025 or 2026 amendments.
How to check. Search Find and Compare. Ask to see the CDPHE license and the most recent inspection report on site (the home must be able to show you where it is).
Who to tell. CDPHE (complaint process and intake form below) and the long-term care ombudsman.
Ombudsman vs CDPHE
| Long-term care ombudsman | CDPHE (the regulator) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who they are | A free, confidential, resident-directed advocate. State office is at the Colorado Department of Human Services. Region 11 covers Mesa, Garfield, Moffat, and Rio Blanco. | The Health Facilities and Emergency Medical Services Division. Licenses, surveys, and investigates health facilities. |
| Who they help | Residents of skilled nursing homes and licensed assisted living, plus family and anyone worried about a resident. | Anyone receiving care in a CDPHE-regulated facility. |
| What they do | Investigate and try to resolve problems on behalf of the resident. Visit homes. Advocate for rights (privacy, dignity, discharge, care). | License homes, survey, investigate complaints, cite problems, and require a plan of correction. |
| What they do not do | They do not license or fine homes. | They are not a confidential resident advocate. They will not share your name unless you say they may — but the home may still guess from the facts. |
| When to call | Rights problems, a discharge that feels wrong, medication or hygiene problems, staff who ignore call lights or talk down to residents. Every licensed home should post the assigned ombudsman. | Quality of care, resident rights, building safety, a place that looks unlicensed, or a home that will not show required papers. Usually within one year of what happened. |
| Use both? | Yes. The ombudsman is the resident’s voice. | Yes. CDPHE is the license and enforcement file. One does not replace the other. |
Red flags
A citation on Find and Compare is a fact about that survey, not a ranking. A home with no public survey because it may be unlicensed is a different problem from a licensed home with a recent citation and a plan of correction. This page does not invent inspection results for any home.
| What you see | What kind of flag | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Cannot produce a CDPHE license, or the licensed name is not on Find and Compare, and the place is clearly providing assisted-living-level services to 3+ unrelated adults | Legal + practical | Colorado’s definition plus the 2024 statute that makes unlicensed operation unlawful. Absence from the tool is a reason to call CDPHE and the ombudsman — not a “clean record.” |
| “We’re not licensed because we’re a private home / small house / just room and board,” while still providing those services | Legal + practical | Same definition. Small house is not a separate Colorado license. |
| Refuses a written resident agreement, or will not list included vs optional services and the price for each | Legal | State rules require a signed, dated agreement at move-in, with those lists. |
| Refuses the written disclosures: staffing and awake 24 hours, sprinklers, exit alerts, cameras, secure environment, care plan, where the latest inspection report sits on site, a copy of the rules if you ask | Legal | Those disclosures are required at move-in. |
| Cannot show the most recent inspection report on site | Legal | The home must keep it where you can see it. |
| No awake staff at night, or cannot say who is in charge evenings, weekends, or overnight | Legal (disclosure) + practical | The home must disclose minimum staffing and whether staff are awake 24 hours. At least one qualified staff member must be present whenever residents are present. The administrator or a qualified designee’s name must always be available. Colorado does not publish a statewide private-pay staff-to-resident ratio. |
| Markets memory care but will not say whether it is a secure environment, how exit is limited, or will not give the pre-move-in packet | Legal | Memory care is not a separate Colorado license. If free exit is limited, extra written disclosures apply. Marketing must match the services. |
| Pressure to sign power of attorney, guardianship, a loan, a mortgage, or to hand over property in exchange for future care | Legal | The home shall not take POA or guardianship unless a court orders it, and shall not require property in exchange for future care. |
| Involuntary discharge with no 30-day written notice (except danger or a level of care the home cannot meet), no grievance/appeal language, or no ombudsman and CDPHE contacts | Legal | Written notice, grievance within 14 days, and a copy to the ombudsman are required. Use CDPHE’s involuntary discharge appeal form and call the ombudsman. |
| Unpleasant odors, residents who do not look clean or engaged, staff who seem too few or unkind, no meal observed | Practical (CDPHE and Alzheimer’s Association checklists) | Use your senses. Tour the whole building. Stay for a meal. Visit unannounced. These are observation tips, not a citation by themselves. |
| High staff turnover, or the administrator cannot describe training or how staffing is set | Practical | Ask, then compare the answer with the written staffing disclosure. |
| No clear grievance process, or residents seem afraid to speak | Practical + ombudsman “when to call” | Homes must have a way for residents to raise concerns. |
| Call lights ignored, medication problems, poor hygiene | Ombudsman “when to call” + CDPHE quality-of-care complaint | Call both. |
How to complain to CDPHE
Process (from the complaints process page):
- Anyone with knowledge can file, including family.
- Anonymous complaints are accepted. Give enough detail, because they cannot call you back.
- They look at quality of care, resident rights, and building or equipment safety.
- They prioritize by harm. They may visit or review records.
- Unless you filed anonymously, they will call you with the outcome and send a written summary.
- If they find a problem, they cite it and the home must correct it. “Could not verify” is not proof it never happened.
- They usually investigate only what happened within a year.
How to file. These contacts were read on CDPHE’s official complaint contacts page on August 27, 2026. Call to confirm before you rely on a number.
Tell them who was involved, what happened, when, how, and where.
- Online form: Health Facility Complaint Intake Form (facility-type choices include Assisted Living Residences)
- Email: cdphe.hfdintake@state.co.us — subject line:
Assisted Living Residences, Complaint Intake - Phone (assisted living): 303-691-4045 or 1-800-886-7689, then enter 4045
- Fax: 303-753-6214 — To:
Assisted Living Residences, Complaint Intake - Mail: CDPHE, HFEMSD-C1, Attention: Assisted Living Residences Complaint Intake, 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Denver, CO 80246-1530
If a problem is still inside the home, and it is safe to start there, also use the home’s posted grievance process and call the ombudsman.
Who to call on the Western Slope
Phones below were checked on official pages on August 27, 2026. Call to confirm.
Long-Term Care Ombudsman — Region 11 (Garfield, Mesa, Moffat, Rio Blanco)
Free, confidential advocate for residents of licensed assisted living and skilled nursing homes.
The state directory lists intake at 970-248-2717. The Mesa County AAA page lists 970-683-2676. Call both if needed and ask which line is current.
Find an ombudsman
Colorado State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
303-862-3524 · cdhs_ltcombudsman@state.co.us
1575 Sherman Street, 9th floor, Denver, CO 80203
coombudsman.org/contact
Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Colorado
Heather Jones, 970-248-2717. That is the same number the state ombudsman directory lists for Region 11 intake. Ask which program you have reached.
Mesa County AAA page
Hilltop ADRC
Free options counseling. 970-248-2746, option 1.
Hilltop also operates senior housing. The ADRC is the counseling program, not a referral to Hilltop homes.
Rocky Mountain Health Plans — Case Management Agency
For Health First Colorado long-term services and “is this home an ACF?” — not a CDPHE complaint line and not a license lookup.
800-346-4643 or 970-243-7050
Official pages this guide is based on
- CDPHE Find and Compare Facilities
- CDPHE assisted living residences
- CDPHE ALR consumer resources
- CDPHE health facilities complaints
- CDPHE complaint contacts
- 6 CCR 1011-1 Chapter 7 (effective March 17, 2025)
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 25 (official PDF) (CRS 25-27-103)
- Find an ombudsman
- Colorado State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
- Mesa County AAA
This page does not recommend, rank, inspect, or place anyone. Check the CDPHE license yourself. Use the ombudsman and CDPHE together if something is wrong.