Children’s Hospital Colorado
Health Systems Children's Hospital Colorado SystemChildren’s Hospital Colorado
501(c)(3)
13123 East 16th Ave.
Aurora, CO
Total Sex Change Patients
Total Surgery Patients
Total Hormone and Puberty Blocker Patients
Total Prescriptions Written
Total Submitted Charges
Children’s Hospital Colorado is a nonprofit hospital system headquartered in Aurora, Colorado, and affiliated with the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The hospital offers puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and mental health services to minors through its gender clinic, the TRUE Center for Gender Diversity. In 2023, the hospital system announced it would cease providing all sex change surgical procedures. Claims data shows the hospital has billed for puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and sex change surgeries for minors in previous years. On average, the hospital prescribes 36 gender-related prescriptions per patient.
For more information on the specific procedure and diagnostic codes and other methodology used to make these determination, read our white paper here.
Key Findings
Children’s Hospital Colorado is home to the TRUE Center for Gender Diversity.
There is no minimum age listed on the TRUE Center for Gender Diversity webpage, which states that they “treat each patient as the unique individual they are because gender-affirming care does not look the same for everyone.”
In July 2023, Children’s Hospital Colorado said that it would stop “performing chest reconstruction on transgender patients, though it will continue to offer non-surgical gender-affirming care.” It had also previously offered hysterectomies to patients 18 and older.
Children’s Hospital Colorado would continue to provide “nonsurgical gender-affirming care” including hormone therapy, gender counseling and nutrition services.
In February 2024, the ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit on behalf of an 18-year-old whose “gender-affirming” surgery was called off at Children’s Hospital Colorado due to the policy change.
“The American Civil Liberties Union said the hospital stopped providing ‘medically necessary surgeries’ to transgender patients ‘without warning, notice, or plans for ensuring continuity of care.’”
In October 2018, the National Catholic Register wrote an article on Children’s Hospital Colorado titled: “At Children’s Hospital Colorado, a new kind of child abuse.”
In September 2018, Children’s Hospital Colorado tweeted that they were removing gender markers from patient wristbands and prescriptions.
Sex Change Treatments Offered
TRUE Center for Gender Diversity
Children’s Hospital Colorado operates the TRUE Center for Gender Diversity. TRUE stands for “trust, respect, understand, emerge.” There is no minimum age limit for sex change treatments listed on the center’s webpage.
Sex change treatments offered:
- Puberty-delaying treatments
- Hormone therapy
- Behavioral health services
- Referrals
The hospital’s webpage says that it provides a “family-centered model of care” and that it is “grounded in scientific research.”
“We provide a family-centered model of care that supports transgender and gender-diverse children and adolescents. This model is a best-practice standard of care grounded in scientific evidence. Research shows that access to supportive healthcare has positive effects on the mental and physical health of transgender and gender-diverse patients and their families.”
Definitions
SEX CHANGE PATIENTS: Total unique children who underwent “gender-affirming” surgical procedures or hormone/puberty blocker therapy.
TOTAL SURGERY PATIENTS: Total unique children who underwent “gender-affirming” surgical procedures.
TOTAL HORMONE AND PUBERTY BLOCKERS PATIENTS: Total unique children who were prescribed puberty blockers or received gender-affirming hormone therapy.
TOTAL PRESCRIPTIONS WRITTEN: Total number of prescriptions written by a provider for puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones for children.
TOTAL SUBMITTED CHARGES: This is the initial amount a healthcare provider or pharmacy submits to the insurance company for a specific service, treatment, or prescription before the insurance company reviews and adjusts the payment. This value includes both the pharmacy-submitted cost of prescription drug claims and the line-item charges associated with medical procedures. Please note that this amount does not necessarily reflect the full cost of the procedure or prescription, as it is subject to adjustments and negotiations by the insurance company.
Leadership
Executive Leadership
Name | Title | Compensation |
---|---|---|
Jena Hausmann, MHA | President & CEO | $2,160,753 |
Lalit Bajaj, MD | Chief Quality Officer | N/A |
David Brumbaugh, MD | Chief Medical Officer | N/A |
Stephen R. Daniels, MD, PhD | Pediatrician-in-Chief | N/A |
Jeff Harrington, MBA | EVP Chief Financial Officer | $960,887 |
Raphe Shwartz | Chief Strategy Officer | $594,969 |
Ronald J. Sokol, MD | Chief Scientific Officer, Child Health | N/A |
The current leadership/titles are based on the Children’s Hospital Colorado website, but the compensation information is from the Children’s Hospital Colorado 2022 Form 990, filed 11/14/23.
Compensation reflects tax year beginning July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2022.
Board of Trustees
Name | Title | Compensation |
---|---|---|
John “Jack” Wold | Chair | $0 |
David Hoover | Outgoing Chair/Director | $0 |
David Honeyfield | Treasurer | $0 |
Annita Menogan | Member | $0 |
Anthony Spikes | Member | $0 |
Barth Whitham | Member | $0 |
Brian Smith | Member | $0 |
Bruce Wagner | Member | $0 |
Chris Nyquist | Member | $0 |
Craig Ponzio | Member | $0 |
Donald Elliman | Member | $0 |
Jim Johnson | Member | $0 |
John Reilly, MD | Member | $0 |
Judith Koff | Member | $0 |
Laura Barton | Member | $0 |
Leroy Williams | Member | $0 |
Martha Middlemist, MD | Member | $0 |
Mary Beth Loesch | Member | $0 |
Megan Fearnow | Member | $0 |
Melissa McDowell | Member | $0 |
Michael Gould | Member | $0 |
Mike Asher | Member | $0 |
Phyllis Wise | Member | $0 |
Rick Stoddard | Member | $0 |
Rob Joyce | Member | $0 |
Scott Morrison | Member | $0 |
Shen Nagel, MD | Member | $0 |
Victoria Quintana | Member | $0 |
Yvonne Camacho | Member | $0 |
The current leadership/titles are based on the Children’s Hospital Colorado website, but the compensation information is from the Children’s Hospital Colorado 2022 Form 990, filed 11/14/23.
It is unclear how the Board of Trustees is elected or how long their terms last.
In the News
Stay up to date with the latest news and updates.
Transgender patient whose gender-affirming surgery was canceled is suing Children’s…
06/24/2024“An 18-year-old transgender patient whose surgery was called off when Children’s Hospital Colorado stopped providing gender-affirming surgeries is suing the…
Read More →At Children’s Hospital Colorado, a New Kind of Child Abuse
10/05/2018“Children’s Hospital Colorado is not just taking gender off wristbands and prescriptions — they provide services that remake children into…
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