2/5
CMS (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) is the federal agency that rates nursing home quality. Its Overall Rating runs from 1 to 5 stars, combining health inspections, staffing, and quality measures, with inspections weighted most heavily.
2/5
CMS (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) is the federal agency that rates nursing home quality. Its Overall Rating runs from 1 to 5 stars, combining health inspections, staffing, and quality measures, with inspections weighted most heavily.
A skilled nursing community at 656 Dillon Way in Aurora, Colorado, University Heights Care Center has easy access to local services. It takes Medicare, Medicaid, and private pay, so families have many ways to fund extended care and rehabilitation.
The facility maintains 105 beds and operates at around 86 percent occupancy. Residents stay an average of 537 days, indicating a blend of short-term rehabilitation and longer-term nursing care. Daily nursing support totals about 3 hours and 43 minutes per resident, with registered nurses, nurse aides, and licensed practical nurses providing coordinated care all day. University Heights Care Center specializes in rehabilitation and recovery. It has programs in short-term rehab, chronic disease management, behavioral health, respite care, and hospice and comfort care. This array of services sets the facility as a grounded choice for residents healing from surgery or acute illness, those managing chronic conditions, or families looking for respite support. For residents who need care between hospital discharge and returning home, the facility offers short-term stays. The surrounding neighborhood scores 70 for walkability, meaning visiting family members can do a majority of errands on foot and access nearby amenities with relative ease.
University Heights Care Center’s accessibility can be especially beneficial for families coordinating regular visits and handling appointments.
The Overall CMS Rating combines results from health inspections, staffing levels and quality measures. Health inspections carry the most weight. Staffing and quality scores can increase or decrease the final rating based on performance compared to state and national standards.
Based on the results of the facility's three most recent standard inspections and any complaint investigations. CMS reviews the number, scope, and severity of deficiencies, with more recent findings weighted more heavily.
Measures average nursing staff hours per resident per day, including Registered Nurses (RNs) and total nursing staff. Ratings are adjusted based on the level of care residents require and are compared to state and national benchmarks.
Based on clinical and physical health indicators reported to CMS, such as hospital readmissions, falls, pressure ulcers, and improvements in mobility. These measures reflect how well residents' health needs are being managed.
Daily nursing hours per resident by staff type, reported to CMS. Higher is generally better — compare this facility to state and national averages to see where staffing stands.
This home is ranked 89th out of 203 homes in Colorado for nurse hours. Total adjusted nursing hours per resident per day, combining RN, LPN, and aide time. CMS adjusts this for case-mix so facilities can be fairly compared.
| Staff type | Hours / Day / Resident | vs state avg |
|---|---|---|
|
Registered Nurse (RN)
RNs hold the highest nursing license and can assess residents, interpret test results, and direct care plans. More RN hours per day often signals stronger clinical oversight and faster response to health changes.
| 39m per day | ▼ 23% State avg: 50m per day · National avg: 41m per day |
|
LPN / LVN
Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) or Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVNs) deliver routine hands-on care — medication administration, wound dressing, and monitoring vital signs. They work under RN supervision and make up a large share of daily bedside care.
| 31m per day | ▼ 24% State avg: 41m per day · National avg: 52m per day |
|
Nurse Aide
Certified Nurse Aides (CNAs) provide the most direct day-to-day assistance: bathing, dressing, feeding, and mobility. Nurse aide hours are typically the largest staffing category and directly affect residents' quality of life.
| 1h 47m per day | ▼ 19% State avg: 2h 12m per day · National avg: 2h 20m per day |
|
Weekend Total Nursing
Combined nursing hours (RN + LPN + Nurse Aide) per resident per day on weekends. Staffing often drops on weekends — this figure reveals whether the facility maintains adequate coverage outside of weekday hours.
| 2h 31m per day | ▼ 23% State avg: 3h 16m per day · National avg: 3h 26m per day |
|
Physical Therapist
Hours per resident per day provided by licensed Physical Therapists (PTs) or PT Assistants. PT services help residents recover mobility after injury or illness and are especially important for post-acute (short-stay) rehabilitation.
| 0m per day | ▼ 98% State avg: 5m per day · National avg: 4m per day |
|
Weekend RN
Registered nurse hours specifically on weekends. Facilities sometimes reduce RN presence on Saturdays and Sundays — a low weekend RN figure compared to weekday hours can indicate reduced clinical oversight when most administrative staff are absent.
| 22m per day | ▼ 39% State avg: 36m per day · National avg: 28m per day |
Average number of days residents stay at this facility, based on CMS cost report data. Shorter stays often reflect post-acute or rehab care; longer stays reflect long-term care.
Federal penalties imposed by CMS for regulatory violations, including civil money penalties (fines) and denials of payment for new Medicare/Medicaid admissions.
Source: CMS Penalties Database
No penalties in the past 3 years
No civil money penalties or payment denials were reported in the last 3 years.
These measures show how residents usually do over time at this home, based on health outcomes and preventive care.
Percentage of SNF residents who experience falls with major injury during their stay.
0.0%
100% better than Colorado averageColorado average: 0.8%
Quality measures are calculated from Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessments. For most measures, lower percentages indicate better care quality.
11% of new residents, usually for short-term rehab.
43% of new residents, often for short stays.
46% of new residents, often for long-term daily care.
Based on CMS SNF Cost Report for fiscal year ending in 12/2023.
Net patient revenue — what the home actually collects for resident care, after contractual allowances, bad debt and discounts are subtracted from its gross charges (CMS cost report, Worksheet G-3). It covers resident care only; money the home earns from other sources is shown separately as "Other income."
Net patient income: net patient revenue minus the home's total operating expenses. A positive figure means it earns more from resident care than it spends to deliver it; a negative figure means the opposite. It excludes non-operating "other income."
Net patient revenue — what the home actually collects for resident care, after contractual allowances, bad debt and discounts are subtracted from its gross charges (CMS cost report, Worksheet G-3). It covers resident care only; money the home earns from other sources is shown separately as "Other income."
Net patient income: net patient revenue minus the home's total operating expenses. A positive figure means it earns more from resident care than it spends to deliver it; a negative figure means the opposite. It excludes non-operating "other income."
Money the home earns outside of resident care — such as investments, grants, rentals and other non-operating sources (CMS cost report, Worksheet G-3). It is tracked separately from net patient revenue: it is not part of that figure, and it is not included in net patient income.
Staff salaries plus wage-related costs — benefits such as payroll taxes, health insurance and retirement — from the home's own accounting records (CMS cost report, Worksheet A). Contract or agency labor is counted separately, under other operating costs.
Rank #91 / 207Payroll — State benchmarkedThis home is ranked 91st out of 207 homes in Colorado for payroll. Shows total annual staff payroll benchmarked to the Colorado average. Higher payroll investment relative to peers often signals better staffing and less reliance on cheaper contract labor.Facilities with the same value for a metric share the same rank. Rankings are based only on facilities in Colorado that report data for that category. Facilities without available data are excluded from the ranking.Click the rank badge to see the full State ranking.Click here to see the full State ranking.
Payroll as a share of revenue: staff salaries and wage-related benefits divided by net patient revenue. A higher figure means more of each revenue dollar goes to staff pay.
Rank #77 / 207Payroll % — State benchmarkedThis home is ranked 77th out of 207 homes in Colorado for payroll %. Shows payroll as a percentage of revenue versus the Colorado average. Well-run Colorado facilities typically land around 60–68% — the top third Statewide. Below 25% may signal understaffing or heavy agency use — read with Staffing ratings.Facilities with the same value for a metric share the same rank. Rankings are based only on facilities in Colorado that report data for that category. Facilities without available data are excluded from the ranking.Click the rank badge to see the full State ranking.Click here to see the full State ranking.
Everything it costs to run the home apart from payroll — food, utilities, supplies, maintenance, contract labor and administration. Calculated as total operating expense minus payroll (staff salaries and wage-related benefits).
The home's total operating expense for the year — all the costs of running it, salaries included (CMS cost report, Worksheet G-3).
Most residents stay for extended periods and receive ongoing daily care.
New residents most often arrive under Medicaid (46% of admissions), and a typical Medicaid stay runs around 3 years.
Coverage residents most often arrive under.
Coverage residents most often leave under.
0.7 miles from city center
Estimated distance in miles from Aurora's city center to University Heights Care Center's address, calculated via Google Maps.
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Info below is compiled from CMS reports & the CO Dept. of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE), senior community websites & trusted data sources such as Walk Score & BBB.
Communities are listed from highest to lowest based on our ranking methodology.
| Garden Terrace at Aurora | NH MC SNF | Aurora (South Potomac Street) | 120
Facility
120
CO AVG
76
Rank
#77 / 526 |
79.6%
Facility
79.6%
CO AVG
70.5
Rank
#64 / 147 | +13% | 4.36
Facility
4.36
CO AVG
3.86
Rank
#33 / 203 | -10% | +13% | $0
Facility
$0
CO AVG
$39.2k
Rank
#1 / 209 | 11
Facility
11
CO AVG
24.8
Rank
#22 / 204 | 2.8
Facility
2.8
CO AVG
5.2
Rank
#29 / 204 | - | 96 | - |
46
Facility
46
CO AVG
51
Rank
#524 / 869 | Jerry Weeter | $10.7MFiscal year ending 09/2023
Facility
$10.7MFiscal year ending 09/2023
CO AVG
$11.2M
Rank
#85 / 207 | $7.9MFiscal year ending 09/2023
Facility
$7.9MFiscal year ending 09/2023
CO AVG
$4.9M
Rank
#53 / 207 | 73.3%Fiscal year ending 09/2023
Facility
73.3%Fiscal year ending 09/2023
CO AVG
46.6%
Rank
#28 / 207 | 65266 | ||||
| Cadence Aurora | NH SNF | Aurora (Utah Park) | 54
Facility
54
CO AVG
76
Rank
#338 / 526 |
93.1%
Facility
93.1%
CO AVG
70.5
Rank
#24 / 147 | +32% | 4.11
Facility
4.11
CO AVG
3.86
Rank
#55 / 203 | +84% | +6% | $0
Facility
$0
CO AVG
$39.2k
Rank
#1 / 209 | 6
Facility
6
CO AVG
24.8
Rank
#7 / 204 | 2.0
Facility
2.0
CO AVG
5.2
Rank
#6 / 204 | 1 | 50 | - |
44
Facility
44
CO AVG
51
Rank
#547 / 869 | Daniel Cortez | $10.8MFiscal year ending 12/2023
Facility
$10.8MFiscal year ending 12/2023
CO AVG
$11.2M
Rank
#54 / 207 | $6.1MFiscal year ending 12/2023
Facility
$6.1MFiscal year ending 12/2023
CO AVG
$4.9M
Rank
#103 / 207 | 56%Fiscal year ending 12/2023
Facility
56%Fiscal year ending 12/2023
CO AVG
46.6%
Rank
#180 / 207 | 65393 | ||||
| Life Care Center of Aurora | NH SNF | Aurora (Southeast Crossing) | 166
Facility
166
CO AVG
76
Rank
#27 / 526 |
31.9%
Facility
31.9%
CO AVG
70.5
Rank
#135 / 147 | -55% | 3.95
Facility
3.95
CO AVG
3.86
Rank
#63 / 203 | +17% | +2% | $33.2k
Facility
$33.2k
CO AVG
$39.2k
Rank
#152 / 209 | 28
Facility
28
CO AVG
24.8
Rank
#131 / 204 | 5.6
Facility
5.6
CO AVG
5.2
Rank
#126 / 204 | 2 | 53 | A+ |
41
Facility
41
CO AVG
51
Rank
#568 / 869 | David Strain | $14.6MFiscal year ending 08/2024
Facility
$14.6MFiscal year ending 08/2024
CO AVG
$11.2M
Rank
#38 / 207 | $10.6MFiscal year ending 08/2024
Facility
$10.6MFiscal year ending 08/2024
CO AVG
$4.9M
Rank
#17 / 207 | 72.4%Fiscal year ending 08/2024
Facility
72.4%Fiscal year ending 08/2024
CO AVG
46.6%
Rank
#57 / 207 | 65332 | ||||
| Summit Rehabilitation and Care Community | NH MC SNF | Aurora (Sunny Vale) | 110
Facility
110
CO AVG
76
Rank
#106 / 526 |
96.3%
Facility
96.3%
CO AVG
70.5
Rank
#7 / 147 | +37% | 2.98
Facility
2.98
CO AVG
3.86
Rank
#168 / 203 | +4% | -23% | $0
Facility
$0
CO AVG
$39.2k
Rank
#1 / 209 | 23
Facility
23
CO AVG
24.8
Rank
#107 / 204 | 3.3
Facility
3.3
CO AVG
5.2
Rank
#42 / 204 | 1 | 106 | - |
70
Facility
70
CO AVG
51
Rank
#226 / 869 | - | $12.3MFiscal year ending 12/2023
Facility
$12.3MFiscal year ending 12/2023
CO AVG
$11.2M
Rank
#40 / 207 | $6.8MFiscal year ending 12/2023
Facility
$6.8MFiscal year ending 12/2023
CO AVG
$4.9M
Rank
#73 / 207 | 55.4%Fiscal year ending 12/2023
Facility
55.4%Fiscal year ending 12/2023
CO AVG
46.6%
Rank
#161 / 207 | 65176 |
University Heights Care Center is located in AURORA, Colorado.
Here are the financial assistance programs available to residents in Colorado.
University Heights Care Center has a walk score of 70. Very walkable. Most errands can be accomplished on foot, and many essentials are within a short walk.
University Heights Care Center's occupancy is 86.2%.
No, University Heights Care Center has a no-pet policy.
University Heights Care Center is registered as a for-profit in CO.
University Heights Care Center has 105 beds.
Yes — there are 3 photos of University Heights Care Center in the photo gallery on this page.
University Heights Care Center is located at 656 Dillon Way, Aurora, CO 80011.
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