In-home primary care in Brentwood
Some Brentwood residents downsized into a condo or apartment to simplify life, and others have stayed for decades in the same small house. Either way, being close to everything does not help much once walking to the car is difficult. In-home primary care follow-up meets people where they live. Gateway arranges visits with a partner clinician who reviews medications, checks on long-term conditions and follows up after a hospital stay, and we coordinate records with the specialists a Brentwood resident may already see nearby.
Small brick houses and bungalows on short blocks make up much of Brentwood, alongside condominiums and newer apartment buildings near the shopping areas. Senior apartments, assisted living and skilled nursing are located in Brentwood and the surrounding Mid County cities. Gateway arranges visits with partner clinicians in each of these settings. Apartment and condo visits go more smoothly when we know the building entry procedure, and facility visits are planned with the nursing staff so orders and records are shared with the people providing daily care.
For the full range of services, see primary care in St. Louis, including house calls, annual wellness visits and follow-up after a hospital stay.
What the clinician can look at
Medications are often where a home visit starts. With the bottles on the table, the treating clinician can compare what is prescribed with what you take, including over-the-counter products, vitamins and supplements. Lists tend to drift after a hospital stay or when several prescribers are involved, and a medication review at home can catch duplicates, gaps and doses that no longer match. Any change is the clinician’s decision, so keep taking your medicines as prescribed until you are told otherwise.
From there the visit moves to the rest of your health: how long-term conditions are doing, what a recent hospital stay left unfinished, whether a wellness visit is due, and which tests or specialist appointments need to be arranged.
Who it helps
Recovering from surgery or living with a wound changes what a trip to the doctor involves. A leg that needs to stay elevated, a dressing that should stay dry, pain with sitting, or instructions to keep weight off a foot all make travel harder. For people in Brentwood in that situation, Gateway can arrange primary care follow-up where they live, so the conditions that affect recovery are not put off until the wound has closed.
The same service helps adults who rarely leave home for other reasons, people in assisted living communities, and people who have no primary care clinician right now.
Why wound care and primary care go together
Swollen legs make wounds slower to heal and skin easier to break. The swelling usually has a cause somewhere else in the body, such as the heart, the kidneys, the veins or a medication. Finding that cause and managing it belongs to primary care and, at times, a specialist. Wrapping the leg and caring for the skin belongs to the wound care team.
The two depend on each other. A wound care clinician who sees a leg at every visit may be the first to notice that swelling is worse or shoes have become tight. Gateway passes that observation to the primary care clinician, who decides whether anything in the medical plan should change.
Homes, assisted living and skilled nursing
Where you live can change during an illness: home, then a hospital, then rehab, then perhaps assisted living. Gateway arranges primary care follow-up in the following settings across Brentwood:
- Private houses, condos and apartments
- Assisted living communities
- Memory care communities
- Skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities
If you move, tell us the new address and who is in charge of care there. We confirm whether a partner clinician is available for that location and setting, and we help get your records to the new care team so the next visit does not start from zero.
Working with your existing doctors
People who need home visits often have several specialists: a cardiologist, a kidney doctor, an endocrinologist, a vascular surgeon. Each one manages a piece. Primary care is where the pieces are put side by side, so that a new heart medicine is checked against the kidney plan and no test is ordered twice. The treating clinician decides when a referral is needed. Gateway handles the logistics of specialist referrals: sending records ahead, arranging the appointment and transportation, and getting the specialist’s note back to the primary care clinician.
How to arrange a visit
Here is what follows a call to 314-325-0126. First, we confirm whether a partner clinician is available for your address in Brentwood and for your type of residence. Next, with your permission, we request records from your doctor’s office or the hospital you were in, so the clinician arrives informed. Then we schedule the visit. After the visit, we follow through on what the clinician ordered, whether that is lab work, equipment or a referral, and keep the people you choose up to date.
- County: St. Louis County, Missouri
- ZIP codes: 63144
- Nearby hospitals: SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital in Richmond Heights; Missouri Baptist Medical Center in Town and Country (not affiliated with Gateway)
- Nearby communities: Richmond Heights, Maplewood, Webster Groves, Ladue, Clayton and Central County
- Care settings: Private homes, skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and rehabilitation
What to ask about your plan
You can ask Gateway about Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and commercial insurance when you call. We cannot tell you over the phone that a visit is a covered benefit, because that depends on three things: the treating practice that would see you, the details of your plan and the care the clinician finds you need. What we can do is tell you which practice would be involved, so you can confirm with your plan before the first visit. The insurance page lists questions worth asking.
Common questions
Who comes to the home for a primary care visit in Brentwood?
A clinician from a partner practice, which is the treating practice responsible for your medical care. Gateway is the coordinating company and does not make clinical decisions. Before the visit, you can ask us for the name of the practice and of the clinician who is coming, and whether that person is a physician, a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant.
Does Gateway arrange primary care in Brentwood for people who do not have a wound?
Yes. The company name says wound care, but you can ask about a primary care clinician who visits at home whether or not you have a wound. Long-term conditions, a recent hospital stay or simply being unable to get to an office are all reasons to call. If a wound does develop later, having primary care already in place makes it easier to coordinate both.
Can blood pressure or blood sugar be tracked between home visits in Brentwood?
Sometimes. If the treating clinician decides it would help, a program called remote patient monitoring uses devices such as a blood pressure cuff or a scale that send readings from your home to the practice. Whether it is offered depends on the practice, your plan and your condition. A written log you keep yourself is also worth showing at each visit. See remote patient monitoring.
How should I get ready for a first primary care visit at home in Brentwood?
Put your medication bottles, insurance cards and any discharge papers in one spot. Write down your top two or three concerns, since first visits cover a lot of history. Choose a place to sit with good light, and decide whether you want a family member present. Our guide to what to expect from a house call goes through the visit.
Can home visits continue if I move out of Brentwood or into a care facility?
They may be able to, but it has to be checked. Availability is confirmed by location and care setting, and facilities have their own rules about outside clinicians. Tell us about a move as early as you can. We will find out whether the same practice can follow you. If it cannot, we help with the handoff of records to whoever takes over.
Related pages
General information to help you talk with your own clinician. It is not medical advice, and the treating clinician makes every clinical decision. For a medical emergency, call 911.