Mobile wound care and wound care at home in the Central West End.

About mobile wound care in the Central West End

The Central West End wraps around the northeast corner of Forest Park, with Kingshighway and Euclid Avenue at its center and the Washington University Medical Campus on its doorstep. It is a dense, walkable part of St. Louis, a mix of high-rise apartments and historic houses on private streets, where students, professionals and retirees live side by side. Being close to hospitals does not make every appointment easy. For a person who is frail, recovering from surgery or living with a chronic wound, even a few blocks can be too far.

Housing in the Central West End stacks up as much as it spreads out. There are doorman towers along Lindell Boulevard and Kingshighway, brick walk-ups and converted mansions on the side streets, newer apartment buildings near the medical campus, and senior apartments, assisted living and skilled nursing within the neighborhood or a short distance away. Gateway arranges partner clinician visits in all of them. For secured buildings we ask ahead about the front desk, entry codes and visitor parking. For facilities we coordinate with the nursing team on timing and orders.

Gateway arranges the same kind of visit across the region. Read more about mobile wound care in St. Louis.

To compare options before you call, read our guide to St. Louis wound care, which covers clinics, home visits and facility care for the Central West End and nearby communities.

Living and getting care in the Central West End

Life in the Central West End revolves around the medical campus. Hospital shifts, clinic hours and visiting times set the rhythm of many blocks, and a good share of the neighbors work, study or train nearby. Others moved here because they wanted to be close to care, then found that closeness did not solve everything. A patient who is tired, in pain or recovering can still struggle with a crowded elevator, a long walk and a waiting room.

The housing varies from block to block. Some residents live in high-rise buildings with a front desk, a garage and an elevator. Others live in historic houses and large brick buildings on private streets, some with gates, some with steps up from the sidewalk and old staircases inside. A visit at a private street address may need a gate code or a call to a neighbor, and a visit at a tower needs a name on the guest list. When you call, tell us how a visitor gets in and whether the front desk should expect someone.

Getting a visitor into a secured building is a practical detail that is easy to overlook. Many buildings in the neighborhood require a resident to approve entry, and some limit when deliveries and guests can use the elevator. If the patient cannot get to the door, ask a neighbor, a family member or the front desk staff to help. Tell us about any moving-day or elevator reservation rules, and give us a phone number that will be answered during the visit window.

The mix of residents is part of what makes the area interesting. Students, medical staff, working professionals, couples without children and long-time retirees live in the same buildings and on the same streets. Some patients have family close by and others live alone, with a friend or a neighbor as their main support. Gateway asks who is helping day to day, so the treating clinician’s plan reaches the right people.

How wound care at home works in the Central West End

Dressings, wraps and other supplies are part of what Gateway coordinates for patients at home in the Central West End. Once the treating clinician decides what the wound needs, the order goes to a supplier, and we follow up on delivery and on what your plan requires. Supplies usually arrive in amounts meant to last a set period, so tell us before you run low, not after. Store them dry, in one spot, away from heat and pets. If a product irritates your skin or will not stay in place, say so. The clinician can change the order, and our supply coordination follows up with the supplier.

Wound care in facilities in the Central West End

Sending a frail resident out to a wound clinic can mean a wheelchair van, an escort, a missed meal and half a day away from the unit. For many residents of nursing homes and senior living communities in the Central West End, having the wound seen in the building is easier on them and on the staff. Gateway arranges those on-site visits with partner clinicians. Some things still require a trip, such as vascular testing, imaging or a surgical consult. When the treating clinician orders one, we help with the appointment, the transportation arrangements and the paperwork that travels with the resident, and we see that the results come back to the wound care team.

Wound conditions we help with in the Central West End

Referring offices, home health agencies and facilities in the Central West End can use this list as a guide to what Gateway coordinates. It is not exhaustive. If a patient has a wound that does not fit a category, send the request anyway, and the treating clinician will determine what is appropriate.

• Diabetic foot ulcer care in the Central West End
• Venous leg ulcer care in the Central West End
• Pressure injury and bed sore care in the Central West End
• Arterial and mixed wound care in the Central West End
• Non-healing wound care in the Central West End
• Post-surgical wound care in the Central West End
• Care for a reopened surgical wound in the Central West End
• Wound follow-up after a surgical site infection in the Central West End
• Skin tear and traumatic wound care in the Central West End
• Wound care with lymphedema in the Central West End
• Skin graft and donor-site aftercare in the Central West End
• Wound VAC and NPWT follow-up in the Central West End

See every wound condition and all wound care services.

After a hospital or rehab stay

Barnes-Jewish Hospital is in the neighborhood itself. SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital is a short drive southeast on Grand Boulevard, and SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond Heights is just west of Forest Park. Gateway is independent of all three. When a patient from the Central West End is discharged, the case manager can fax a referral, or the family can call. We request the discharge records, confirm the home or facility address, and arrange follow-up with a treating clinician, so wound care continues after the hospital’s part ends.

Nearby hospitals, skilled nursing and assisted living

These facilities are in or near the Central West End. They come from public directories and are listed only to help you get your bearings.

• Hospitals nearby: Barnes-Jewish Hospital; SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital; SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital in Richmond Heights
• Skilled nursing and rehabilitation nearby: Bernard Care Center (St. Louis 63108); Beauvais Rehab and Healthcare Center (St. Louis 63110); Barnes-Jewish Extended Care (St. Louis 63105); U-City Forest Manor (University City 63130)
• Assisted living and memory care nearby: St. Elizabeth Hall (St. Louis 63108); Silver Spur (St. Louis 63118); St. Louis Hills Assisted Living and Memory Care (St. Louis 63109)

Gateway is not affiliated with any facility listed here, and a listing does not mean a partnership or referral relationship. If the patient lives in one of them, tell us its name when you call so we can contact the right nurse or front desk.

Sources: Medicare Care Compare nursing home data (CMS) and the Missouri DHSS long-term care directory.

Primary care at home in the Central West End

If getting to a wound clinic is difficult, getting to a primary care office usually is too. Checkups get skipped, refills run out and lab work is put off, all of which can slow healing. For people in the Central West End in that position, Gateway can arrange in-home primary care with a partner clinician at the same time as wound care. You can ask for both in one call. The treating clinician decides what follow-up is needed, and we handle the scheduling and records.

Primary care at home in the Central West End →

Getting care in the Central West End

Calling about someone in the Central West End? Have the building name and unit number, how visitors get in, and whether there is a place to park or a loading zone out front. Share a phone number that will be answered on the day of the visit. Street parking and event traffic near the park can slow arrivals, so a visit window is more realistic than an exact time. Gateway also arranges care in nearby University City, Clayton, Downtown St. Louis and the north and south sides of the city.

Visits are confirmed by location and care setting, so call 314-325-0126 with your ZIP code to ask about your street.

No referral is needed to ask Gateway about wound care in the Central West End. Patients and families can call 314-325-0126 themselves. If a doctor, hospital or home health agency is already involved, tell us, and we will contact them for records and keep them updated. Physician offices and facilities can start a request from our refer a patient page or by calling the same number. Some health plans have their own referral or authorization rules. We check on those with the treating provider before the first visit, so they do not come as a surprise later.

• County: City of St. Louis, Missouri (an independent city)
• ZIP codes: 63108, 63110
• Care settings: Private homes, skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and rehabilitation

Nearby: St. Louis City, Downtown St. Louis, University City, Clayton and Central County, North St. Louis

Coverage questions

People with Original Medicare can ask Gateway what to expect before a wound care visit at home or in a facility. Have your red, white and blue card and any supplement (Medigap) card with you on the call. Good questions to ask about Medicare include:

• Does the treating provider participate with Medicare?
• What part of the cost might be my responsibility?
• Are dressings and supplies handled separately from the visit?

The answers depend on the provider and the care ordered, so they are confirmed case by case.

Common questions