June 04, 2025
The American Diabetes Association® (ADA) and The Leapfrog Group named 36 hospitals across 12 states as 2025 Recognized Leaders in Caring for People Living with Diabetes. Of the hospitals, Denver Health is the only health provider in Colorado to be recognized for its exceptional inpatient diabetes care.
The award recognizes each hospital’s strong commitment to the safety and well-being of hospitalized people living with diabetes, estimated to be 30 percent of all inpatients nationwide.
At Denver Health, the Endocrinology Division is an integral part of the Denver Health Diabetes Program, offering comprehensive services to prevent and manage diabetes and its associated complications. The skilled team of diabetologists, certified diabetes educators, and allied staff provide multidisciplinary, state-of-the-art care for patients with complex, high-risk diseases. The use of the latest technological tools, including continuous glucose monitors and continuous infusion insulin pumps, allows optimization of care for patients with complicated diabetes, frequent hypoglycemia and/or type 1 diabetes.
While patient-centric care is the core of our practice, Rocio Pereira, MD, who oversees the Denver Health Diabetes Program, believes there are a variety of factors that lead to positive outcomes.
“Offering exceptional inpatient care begins with ensuring providers are equipped with the resources to provide the best care for patients,” said Pereira. “This is a testament to the dedication of our team of doctors, nurses and all allied staff. It includes facilitating ADA guidelines, setting up protocols and establishing efficient processes in the electronic health system. Additionally, we regularly review the ADA standards of care to ensure we are following the most up-to-date recommendations and implementing best practices.”
Every year, approximately 8 million Americans living with diabetes are hospitalized and face heightened risks of severe complications, including amputations, comas and even death. Errors in medication administration, inadequate discharge planning or exposure to hospital-acquired infections can have particularly devastating consequences for this vulnerable population.
"We congratulate these hospitals for demonstrating their commitment to patient safety and improving the lives of people living with diabetes. Moving evidence-based standards of care into practice opens doors to improved quality outcomes for people living with diabetes,” said Osagie Ebekozien, MD, MPH, the ADA’s chief quality officer.
Denver Health is committed to providing exceptional care and improving the lives of people living with diabetes through continuous innovation and adherence to the highest standards of medical practice.
