Fourth most fit metro area in the nation.
    - Men’s Fitness Magazine, 2004

Top ten healthiest state in the nation.
    - UnitedHealth Foundation, 2004

The active, outdoor lifestyle of Aurora residents translates into a high degree of fitness, which means less illness and lower absenteeism for employers. According to 2004 Men’s Fitness Magazine, metro Denver ranked the fourth most fit metropolis in the nation. Preventive health care receives a great deal of attention, and many employers provide wellness programs for their workers. Women’s health care was ranked seventh in the nation in 2004 by the National Women’s Law Center. Hospital facilities include the University of Colorado Hospital, The Medical Center of Aurora, and Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital. The Children’s Hospital is also relocating to Aurora’s Fitzsimons campus.

Rankings and Facts
The Medical Center of Aurora, was named in the top five percent of hospitals for clinical excellence in HealthGrades’ fourth annual Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence study recently completed. The annual study identifies hospitals in the top five percent in the nation in terms of mortality and complication rates across 26 procedures and diagnoses, from bypass surgery to hip-replacement surgery. HealthGrades is the leading healthcare ratings organization, providing ratings and profiles of hospitals, nursing homes and physicians.

The University of Colorado Hospital has been redesignated a magnet hospital for excellence in nursing services by the American Nurse Credentialing Center. The prestigious designation is a benchmark that attracts high-quality nursing staff and enables consumers to identify hospitals with a proven level of nursing care excellence. The ANCC, the nation's largest nursing credentialing organization, launched the Magnet Recognition Program™ in 1993 and confers the status on only 3 percent of all U.S. hospitals. The organization requires hospitals to re-apply for the status every four years and demonstrate continued success at meeting specific nursing standards. To gain magnet designation, a hospital must exhibit high job satisfaction and a low turnover rate among registered nurses, excellent nurse-to-patient ratios, and the highest patient care quality as assessed by its nursing staff. The Children's Hospital also received this prominent designation.