Gateway is not a home health agency. If you are looking for home health in St. Louis, you need an agency that can send nurses or therapists under a plan of care, and we will not pretend to be one. What we do is arrange medical visits at home, such as wound care and primary care, and coordinate them with the agency you already have or are about to choose.
That distinction matters because the two are often confused. Knowing which is which helps you call the right place the first time.
What home health is
Home health is care delivered at home by an agency, usually for a limited time. It can include nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, social work and help from a home health aide. Medicare pays for home health only through agencies that take part in Medicare, so many families look specifically for those.
In general, Medicare’s rules look for several things:
- A physician or other allowed practitioner who orders the care and signs a plan of care.
- A face-to-face encounter with a clinician related to the reason for home health.
- A need for skilled care on an intermittent basis, such as nursing or therapy.
- Being homebound, meaning leaving home takes a considerable and taxing effort.
Medicare Advantage and other plans set their own steps, and Medicaid follows state rules. Our guide on whether Medicare covers home health in Missouri goes through these ideas in more detail. It is education, not a decision about your benefits.
How to find a home health agency
Start with the person who is sending you home from the hospital or following your care. A hospital discharge planner or your physician’s office can often give you a list of agencies that serve your ZIP code. You have a say in which agency you choose.
Medicare Care Compare is a tool Medicare publishes that lets you search for home health agencies by location and look at quality information side by side. Search for it by name rather than relying on a link from us. Our step-by-step guide to finding a home health agency in St. Louis lists what to compare and what to ask on the phone.
What Gateway does instead
Gateway arranges and coordinates medical visits at home and in senior living across Greater St. Louis and the Metro East. The visits are made by partner clinicians, who may include physicians, podiatrists (DPM), nurse practitioners and nurses, depending on what the patient needs. The treating clinician makes every clinical decision.
Common reasons people ask us for help:
- A wound that is slow to change, or a dressing plan nobody has time to review.
- Primary care follow-up for someone who has trouble getting to an office.
- Foot checks for a person with diabetes.
- A visit after a hospital stay to review what changed.
You can read more about house calls in St. Louis for adults who cannot easily get to a clinic. Visit availability is confirmed by location and care setting.
How we work alongside your agency
If you already have a home health agency, you do not have to choose between it and us. The agency’s nurses carry out the orders between their visits. A partner clinician examines the problem, such as a wound, and writes orders. Gateway coordinates the paperwork around that: the request, scheduling, records, supplies and updates among the agency, your physician and your family.
For the details, see how we handle wound care for home health patients. It is also helpful to tell each person who comes to your home who else is visiting, so nobody changes a plan without knowing about the others.
Home health, home care and house calls
These three terms sound alike. Home health is skilled care from an agency. Home care is non-medical help with daily tasks. A house call is a clinician visit for medical care. Our comparison of home health, home care and house calls sets out who orders each and how they fit together.
How to ask for help
If you are not sure which service you need, call 314-325-0126 or request care. Please do not put medical details in the web form, which collects only your name and phone number. We will ask what is going on, explain what we can arrange, and say plainly when another service should come first.
For an emergency, call 911. Home health and house calls are not emergency services.
Common questions
Does Gateway provide home health?
No. Gateway is a coordinating company, not an agency. We arrange visits by partner clinicians for wound care and primary care at home. If you need nursing or therapy under a home health plan of care, you would need an agency that takes part in your plan.
Can I use a home health agency and Gateway at the same time?
Yes, many people do. The agency handles its ordered nursing or therapy, and a partner clinician sees the wound or the medical problem. Tell both about each other, and ask that updates go to your physician.
Who orders home health?
Generally a physician or another allowed practitioner orders it and signs a plan of care. The agency then assesses you and sets up visits. Ask your physician’s office or the discharge planner how to start.
Do I have to be homebound?
For Medicare home health, homebound status is one of the usual requirements. Other services, such as house calls, may follow different rules. Our page on what homebound means explains the term in plain language.
What should I ask before a visit is scheduled?
Ask who will visit, what they will do, what you may be asked to pay and how updates reach your physician. Coverage depends on the treating provider, your plan and the care needed, so ask your plan directly as well.