THE COLORADO HEALTH FOUNDATION: Origins in a 1995 Hospital Joint Venture and Its Extensive Promotion of Gender Ideology The Colorado Health Foundation (CHF) operates as Colorado’s largest private philanthropic organization, with approximately $2.9 BILLION in assets as of the most recent reporting. It awards more than $100 million annually in grants and contributions - $102 million in 2024, as part of a total payout of $149.9 million that year (exceeding its IRS-required distributable amount of $141.9 million). As a private foundation (EIN 74-2568941), it has no ongoing external donors in the traditional sense; its endowment stems entirely from investment returns on funds generated by its founding transaction. All grantmaking is guided by three core cornerstones: ten health equity priority areas (including primary care), an Equity & Justice framework that explicitly frames "gender identity" and sexual orientation as intersecting systems of oppression alongside race and ethnicity, and a Learning & Evaluation process that requires grantees to report demographic data on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and disability. Eligibility is limited primarily to Colorado-based 501(c)(3) nonprofits and public agencies. Applicants MUST align with anti-discrimination policies that include "gender identity" and sexual orientation, and faith-based organizations qualify only if services are secular and open to all. The foundation does not fund individuals, scholarships, endowments, debt retirement, or organizations that "willfully discriminate". CHF’s ORIGINS It traces back directly to a 1995 for-profit joint venture between the nonprofit HealthONE hospital system (itself the product of earlier Denver-area mergers, including Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center) and Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). This created HCA-HealthONE LLC, which grew into metro Denver’s largest healthcare provider network, encompassing seven acute care hospitals and 13 ambulatory surgery centers. The seven acute care hospitals formed the core hospital network: The Medical Center of Aurora (including Centennial Medical Plaza) North Suburban Medical Center Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center (P/SL), included Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children Rose Medical Center Sky Ridge Medical Center Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital Swedish Medical Center (including Swedish Southwest ER) The 13 Ambulatory Surgery Centers: The 2011 HCA announcements stated that the joint venture included 13 ambulatory surgery centers in the metro Denver area, but they did not publish a complete public list of all 13 names. From records, it appears they included, or were operated as, the following: Midtown Surgical Center (Denver) Rose Surgical Center (Denver) Sky Ridge Surgical Center (Lone Tree) Surgicare of Sky Ridge Surgicare of Southeast Denver Lakewood Surgicare Various endoscopy and specialty centers (e.g., Aurora Endoscopy Center, Denver Endoscopy Center, Arapahoe Endoscopy Center, and others) Many operated under Surgicare or HealthONE Ambulatory Surgical Centers branding, and some names have evolved over time through rebranding or consolidation. HCA invested more than $2 billion in capital improvements and operations. The nonprofit side reorganized as the HealthONE Foundation and operated as HealthONE Alliance (formalized around 1999), holding an approximate 40% equity stake. Proceeds from the venture were primarily directed toward graduate medical education (GME) for residents training within the HCA-HealthONE hospitals, along with medical research, community programs, and limited early grantmaking. In 2006, the organization rebranded as The Colorado Health Foundation to expand its statewide focus. By 2011, the board voted to divest: with approval from Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, CHF sold its entire 40% stake back to HCA for $1.45 billion in October 2011. This transaction transformed CHF into the state’s largest philanthropy. It converted to full private foundation status in 2016, ending direct ownership ties. HCA has since owned 100% of the former joint venture (still operating the seven hospitals and surgery centers as a for-profit system). Post-sale affiliation agreements provided some continued GME access to hospital facilities for a period, but today any hospital involvement is minimal and arms-length, with occasional grants to safety-net providers rather than any ownership or operational control. This self-sustaining structure, forged from a hospital asset conversion and now insulated from external donor accountability, raises questions about oversight and alignment with original community benefit expectations. The foundation’s board of approximately 15 members and leadership team steer its direction. Board Chair Terri Richardson, MD (retired Kaiser Permanente internist) oversees governance alongside members including Dr. Juana Bordas (President, Mestiza Leadership International), Ross Brooks (President & CEO, Colorado Community Health Network), and others. President & CEO Karen McNeil-Miller, has led CHF from 2015, and is retiring at the end of 2026. Other key staff include Chief Impact Officer Erin Brown and Senior Director of Public Policy Kyle Rojas Legleiter. GENDER IDEOLOGY PROMOTION A significant portion of CHF’s work involves the active promotion of "gender-affirming care", which it defines comprehensively to include social supports (such as preferred names, pronouns, and clothing), legal recognition (such as ID changes), and medical interventions (puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries). This is framed as “essential,” “evidence-based,” “medically necessary,” and “a vital form of primary care” for "transgender and gender-diverse" Coloradans of all ages, integrated directly into its primary care priority and Equity & Justice cornerstone. In its May 2, 2025, blog post titled “Access to Gender-Affirming Care is Essential for Health Equity,” CHF traces the approach to historical figures like Magnus Hirschfeld and Harry Benjamin, endorses WPATH standards delivered through interdisciplinary teams, and cites poor quality studies linking it to reduced depression, anxiety, and suicidality. Regret rates are characterized as very low, and surgeries for minors as quite rare (with mastectomies noted as the most common). Restrictions such as federal Medicaid changes affecting coverage for minors in April 2025 or canceled research grants are attributed to misinformation, disinformation, and fear rather than legitimate policy debate. The foundation maintains that decisions should rest solely with patients, families, and providers. Additional public communications reinforce this stance. The November 17, 2025, blog “Standing in Solidarity: Honoring Colorado’s Transgender Communities” affirms that trans Coloradans are cherished and positions Colorado as a beacon of inclusion amid federal policy shifts, committing CHF to advancing supportive policies, practices, and narratives. Social media channels (Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook) consistently highlight “gender-affirming care is primary care” as evidence-based and medically necessary for physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. A June 18, 2025, statement on the U.S. v. Skrmetti case and a December 18, 2025, joint statement with partners (including One Colorado) oppose limits as government overreach that undermines dignity and well-being. The foundation also maintains a Transgender Communities Messaging Brief and has sponsored related surveys and policy work. Grantmaking translates these positions into action. In 2019, CHF pledged participation in the Grantmakers United for Transgender Communities (GUTC), committing to policy advocacy, targeted grants, and trainings supporting trans Coloradans. Ongoing funding opportunities such as “Developing Agency, Identity and Belonging in Young People” and “Supporting Healthy Minds and Youth Resiliency” (typically $150,000–$250,000 over two years) prioritize BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ youth (primary/secondary school age or ages 12–18). These programs fund "safe spaces" for exploring and affirming racial, ethnic, sexual, and/or "gender identity", and building agency against "oppression". Larger communities must explicitly serve "LGBTQIA2S+ youth", while smaller ones must be culturally responsive. Higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidality among these groups are attributed to systemic oppression, with identity affirmation presented as a key resiliency factor. ONE COLORADO CONTROVERSY In 2021 alone, CHF directed $6.95 million toward LGBTQ-related issues. A notable, recurrent recipient is One Colorado Education Fund, which received multiple grants from 2015–2021 totaling over $1.3 million, plus recurring support including $207,000 in 2024 for capacity building and general operations. Cumulative/total documented: Approximately $2.5 million. One Colorado collaborates on joint statements and messaging around youth gender-affirming care, while CHF-backed state policies have helped codify coverage in Medicaid and insurance. It's an efficient trans propaganda machine. One Colorado’s Opposition to Ballot Measures Involving Protect Kids Colorado @protectkidsCO: Protect Kids Colorado is coalition led by parent Erin Lee @Erin4Parents that has advanced ballot initiatives in Colorado by collecting signatures from the public through extensive grassroots efforts. The ones involving gender ideology include : - Initiative 109 (Sex Requirement for School and College Sports): Would require sports participation based sex rather than "gender identity", protecting female sports. - Initiative 110 (Prohibit Surgeries for Treatment in Response to Minors’ Perception of Sex or Gender): Would ban health care professionals from performing surgeries on minors “for the purpose of altering biological sex characteristics” and restrict state/federal funding (including Medicaid) for such procedures. One Colorado (via Executive Director Nadine Bridges and campaigns like “Families Not Politics”) has publicly and actively opposed these measures. They argue the initiatives go too far, interfere with family and medical decision-making, are vaguely written, and threaten dignity/safety/belonging of "transgender youth". Ironically, the ballot initiatives were introduced by concerned parents worried about recent state laws that override their parental rights in favor of one way "gender-affirming". One Colorado has continued to lead and participate in fierce opposition efforts, messaging campaigns, and coalitions to prevent the measures from qualifying or passing. They have celebrated victories when similar prior initiatives failed to gather enough signatures or were defeated. CONCLUSION We question the motives of CHF and its "philanthropy". Intentions may have been good, but the foundation appears to have succumbed to gender ideology. While CHF cites major medical associations, WPATH standards, and reportedly low regret rates for pushing "gender-affirming care", international reviews (such as the Cass Review in the UK) and policy shifts in countries like Sweden, Finland, and Norway have restricted puberty blockers and hormones for minors, citing weak long-term data, high pre-medicalization desistance rates among children with gender dysphoria, and concerns about social contagion and rapid-onset cases in adolescents. It was recently even reported that some doctors at Colorado Children's hospital are refusing to indulge the state forcing them to resume the process on minors, fearing federal repercussions from the Trump administration. Maybe they also debeloped morals? Meanwhile, Colorado Health Foundation continues embedding "gender identity" in youth grants and opposing guardrails. The foundation’s strategy appears to prioritize affirmation even as long-term harms become more and more evident. With its endowment derived from a one-time hospital transaction and no external donors to provide checks, there is limited external pressure to revisit assumptions or incorporate dissenting scientific perspectives. The original HCA-HealthONE hospitals that generated the foundation’s wealth now operate independently under for-profit ownership, while CHF’s influence shapes Colorado’s health equity narrative largely unchecked. In summary, CHF’s hospital-derived endowment enables a broad grantmaking apparatus that systematically advances gender-affirming care as central to its mission. This does not constitute prudent use of converted hospital assets for genuine community health, but rather accelerates medical and surgical interventions that medicalize vulnerable minors lifelong, profiting the trans industry by harming humans. We hope Colorado Health Foundation and its stakeholders will question its decisions to promote the pseudosccience of gender ideology. REFERENCES - Colorado Health Foundation official site (accessed May 2026): coloradohealth.org/about-us/… (1995 joint venture, 2006 rebrand, 2011 sale); coloradohealth.org/about-us/… ($2.9B assets, 2024 grants and $149.9M payout); coloradohealth.org/news/blog… (May 2, 2025 blog); coloradohealth.org/funding-o… and coloradohealth.org/funding-o… (youth resiliency and identity grants); coloradohealth.org/about-us/… and related announcements (board, CEO retirement end of 2026). - HCA Healthcare investor release (October 14, 2011): investor.hcahealthcare.com/n… (40% stake sale, seven hospitals, 13 surgery centers, $2B+ prior investment). - Fierce Healthcare, Denver Post, and additional 2011 reporting (joint venture origins and $1.45B sale). - ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (EIN 74-2568941 Form 990-PF filings, including 2024 guide and grant tracking); historical One Colorado awards and 2021 LGBTQ funders data via Instrumentl, CauseIQ, and InfluenceWatch. - Youth Today (May 23, 2024) on resiliency grants; official GUTC pledge references. #Colorado #COpolitics #Denver #CHF #health #healthcare #foundation #coloradohealthfoundation #nonprofit #ngo #fightthepower #genderidentity #sexnotgender #sexbasedrights #medx #ethics

Prop 134 would police which kids can play on which teams, and could force kids to prove their sex to play. Those decisions belong to kids, parents and schools. Vote NO. progressnow.co/proposition-1… #copolitics #vote2026