Questions people actually ask

Yes. Gateway Wound Care is a mobile, bedside wound care practice. Our clinicians come to the patient's home, assisted living facility, skilled nursing facility, or hospice. There is no clinic to drive to, no waiting room, and no transportation arrangement to make.

Diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers, pressure ulcers (stage I through IV plus unstageable and deep tissue injury), arterial ulcers, post-surgical wounds, traumatic wounds, skin tears, burns, lymphedema-related wounds, MASD (moisture-associated skin damage), and chronic non-healing wounds of any cause. If a wound has been around longer than it should be, we want to hear about it.

Most new referrals in the greater St. Louis area are seen within 24 to 48 business hours. Urgent cases — active infection, exposed bone or tendon, rapid deterioration — are triaged same-day whenever staffing allows.

Yes. We bill Medicare Part B as the primary payer for the vast majority of our patients. We also work with most major Medicare Advantage plans and commercial insurance. Patients pay nothing out of pocket for the visit beyond standard Medicare cost-sharing (Part B deductible and 20% coinsurance, often covered by supplemental plans).

Traditional wound clinics require the patient to travel — often weekly, often by ambulance for non-ambulatory patients. That's expensive, exhausting, and a major reason wounds don't heal. We bring the same level of clinical care to the patient's bed, on the patient's schedule. No transportation, no waiting room, no missed appointments.

Yes. Sharp/surgical debridement at the bedside is one of our core services. We carry sterile instruments, hemostatic agents, and dressings on the visit. For wounds that need OR-level debridement we coordinate with surgery; for everything else, we handle it in the home.

Yes. We initiate, manage, and discontinue negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT / wound vac) in the home setting. We coordinate with the DME supplier for canister/dressing changes and adjust pressure settings as the wound progresses.

Yes — extensively. Most of our patients are co-managed with a home health nurse who handles routine dressing changes between our visits. We send wound assessment notes, photos, and dressing change orders directly to the home health agency so the bedside nurse always has current orders.

Yes. We accept referrals from any licensed provider — PCP, podiatrist, vascular surgeon, general surgeon, plastic surgeon, infectious disease, hospital case manager, hospice MD, ALF medical director. Send the referral by phone at (314) 900-6944 or email at [email protected].

Medicare requires a physician order for the initial evaluation and ongoing wound care. If you don't have a referring physician, we can help coordinate one — but most patients come to us through their existing care team.

Full wound assessment with measurement and photo documentation, vascular screening (ABI/toe pressures when indicated), debridement if needed, dressing application, and a written care plan. We also coordinate with home health, the patient's PCP, and any specialists already involved. The visit usually runs 45-60 minutes.

It depends on the wound. Most chronic wounds need weekly visits during the active healing phase. Complex or rapidly changing wounds may need 2x weekly. Stable wounds in the maintenance phase may step down to every 2-3 weeks.

the greater St. Louis area — covering St. Louis County, St. Charles County, Jefferson County, and the Missouri/Illinois border. We don't take cases outside that radius because the tighter the geography, the better the care.

Yes. We see patients in SNFs, ALFs, memory care, group homes, and hospice. We work directly with the DON, MDS coordinator, social services, and medical director — not just the resident.

Call us at (314) 900-6944 day or night. Active infection, increased drainage, fever, or sudden pain change should never wait for the next scheduled visit. We triage by phone and either come out same-day or get the patient to the right level of care.

Yes. We apply CTPs (cellular and tissue-based products / skin substitutes) at the bedside under Medicare for qualifying chronic wounds. Common products include placental allografts, fish-skin grafts, and synthetic matrices. Selection depends on wound type, patient comorbidities, and Medicare LCD criteria.

Yes. Multilayer compression bandaging (Profore, Coban 2, Unna boot) is a standard part of our venous ulcer protocol. We also assess for arterial disease before applying compression — full ABI screening at the first visit.

Yes. Our clinicians hold WCC (Wound Care Certified) or CWS/CWCN credentials and have direct experience managing chronic and complex wounds in the home and post-acute setting.

Have the case manager or discharge planner call us at (314) 900-6944 or email [email protected] 24-48 hours before discharge with the wound assessment, current orders, and discharge address. We schedule the first home visit before the patient leaves the hospital so there's no gap in care.

Established patients are covered for urgent issues seven days a week. New patient intakes are scheduled Monday-Friday, but we triage urgent referrals any day.