Mobile wound care close to home in Downtown St. Louis

Downtown St. Louis is the central business district beside the riverfront, stretching west from the Gateway Arch through Downtown West. Many of its former warehouses and office buildings along Washington Avenue and the nearby streets are now lofts and apartments, and people of every age live among the stadiums, hotels and courthouses. Living downtown often means living without a car, in a building with elevators, secured doors and a front desk. For a resident with a wound or a chronic illness, care that comes up to the apartment is far simpler than arranging a ride out.

Homes in Downtown St. Louis are almost all multi-unit: converted lofts, high-rise apartment towers, senior apartment buildings and a smaller number of condominiums. Skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers lie a short distance away in neighboring parts of the city. Gateway arranges partner clinician visits to all of these settings. Before a downtown visit we confirm how to get past the front door, whether a building manager needs notice, and where the clinician can leave a car. We also ask where supply deliveries should go, since packages are handled differently in each building.

The main guide to mobile wound care in St. Louis explains who it helps and how visits are arranged.

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

How wound care at home works in Downtown St. Louis

Getting to a wound clinic again and again is hard when walking hurts, when you use a wheelchair or when the person who drives you works days. Wound care at home in Downtown St. Louis is meant for those situations. Gateway arranges for a partner clinician to see you where you live, whether that is a house, an apartment or a senior living building. It often suits people who:

  • have a leg, foot or pressure wound that makes travel painful or unsafe
  • are recovering from surgery or a hospital stay
  • depend on a relative or a ride service for every appointment

The treating clinician decides whether home visits fit your wound and what the plan should be.

For residents of senior living and nursing facilities

A person living with dementia may not be able to say that a heel hurts or that a dressing feels wrong, and may pull a bandage off without knowing why it is there. In memory care communities in Downtown St. Louis, the wound plan has to account for that. The treating clinician relies on what staff and family have noticed, such as changes in walking, sleep, appetite or mood, as well as on what the skin shows. Visits for wound care in memory care are planned for the resident’s own room, with a familiar caregiver present when possible. Gateway shares the plan with care staff and family so everyone watches for the same changes.

Types of wounds

Different wounds call for different plans. A leg ulcer caused by vein problems is managed differently from a pressure injury or a diabetic foot ulcer, which is why the type of wound matters so much. Gateway helps arrange care in Downtown St. Louis for the conditions below.

See every wound condition and all wound care services.

Coming home from the hospital

The two hospitals people in Downtown St. Louis use most are SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, a couple of miles southwest on Grand Boulevard, and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in the Central West End. Gateway is not affiliated with either. If you are being discharged to a downtown apartment, ask your case manager to fax a referral, or call us yourself. Gateway requests the discharge records and wound orders, confirms building access, and arranges follow-up with a treating clinician. Discharge planners can help by noting the unit number and a contact who will answer the door.

Facilities near Downtown St. Louis

People in Downtown St. Louis often know these places by name. The list is drawn from public directories so you can get your bearings.

  • Hospitals nearby: SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital; Barnes-Jewish Hospital
  • Skilled nursing and rehabilitation nearby: Life Care Center of St. Louis (St. Louis 63103); Lansdowne Village (St. Louis 63116); Delhaven Manor (St. Louis 63112); Oak Park Care Center (St. Louis 63139)
  • Assisted living and memory care nearby: Silver Spur (St. Louis 63118); St. Elizabeth Hall (St. Louis 63108); 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.

Looking after the whole patient

Already have a primary care doctor you like? Keep them. Wound care arranged through Gateway in Downtown St. Louis does not replace your regular office. With your permission, we send the wound clinician’s visit notes and any order changes to that office and ask it for your recent labs and history. If you have no primary care clinician, or can no longer get to the one you have, tell us when you call. Arranging primary care at home is something we can look into for you.

Primary care at home in Downtown St. Louis →

Getting care in Downtown St. Louis

Three things make a request for care in Downtown St. Louis go smoothly. First, the full address with unit number and ZIP code, whether 63101, 63102 or 63103. Second, access details: call box name, door code, front desk hours, guest parking or the nearest garage. Third, a phone that will be answered when the clinician arrives. Ball games, concerts and street closures can affect timing, so we plan around them where we can. Gateway also arranges care in the Central West End, North St. Louis, South St. Louis and across St. Louis City.

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

After you call 314-325-0126, three things happen before anyone visits.

  1. Gateway confirms whether a partner clinician covers the address in Downtown St. Louis and the type of setting.
  2. We ask about insurance and pass coverage questions to the treating provider, since participation and benefits vary by plan.
  3. With your permission, we request recent records, such as hospital notes, wound orders and a medication list.

Then we call you to set the visit and explain how to prepare for the first visit. If something holds things up, such as a missing record or a plan requirement, we tell you what it is.

  • County: City of St. Louis, Missouri (an independent city)
  • ZIP codes: 63101, 63102, 63103
  • Care settings: Private homes, skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and rehabilitation

Nearby: St. Louis City, Central West End, North St. Louis, South St. Louis

Coverage questions

Medicaid questions need a little extra detail because the region spans two states. Missouri’s program (MO HealthNet) and Illinois Medicaid are separate, each with its own plans and rules, and coverage from one state generally does not carry over to the other. Tell us which state issued the coverage, the plan name on the card and whether the patient also has Medicare. The treating provider’s participation and the benefits for the care needed are then checked for that specific plan. Our guide to Medicaid and wound care lists what to ask. Gateway does not decide coverage.

Common questions

How does a visiting clinician get into a secured loft building in Downtown St. Louis?

The same way any invited guest does, with a little planning. Tell us whether your building uses a call box, a key fob, a front desk or a manager who lets visitors in. We give those instructions to the clinician before the visit. If you cannot come down to the door yourself, let us know who can, or ask your building office whether it will admit a scheduled medical visitor.

I live in Downtown St. Louis without a car. Can wound care come to my apartment?

Yes, that is the purpose of the service. Gateway arranges for a partner clinician to see you in your apartment, so you do not need a ride for the visit itself. If the treating clinician orders a test or appointment that must happen elsewhere, we can help coordinate transportation arrangements. Availability for your building is confirmed when you call 314-325-0126.

Do ball games and street closures in Downtown St. Louis affect home visits?

They can affect timing, and visits can be planned around them. Event days bring traffic, closed blocks and full garages near the stadiums and the convention center. If you know a big event falls on your visit day, mention it. We may suggest a different time of day, and the clinician may call when they are close. Tell us which entrance is easiest to reach during closures.

Can staff at a senior apartment building in Downtown St. Louis contact Gateway for a resident?

Yes, with the resident’s agreement. Service coordinators, building managers and social workers in Downtown St. Louis can call us to start a request or help a resident make the call. We need the resident’s name and phone number to begin. Medical details should be shared by phone, not through the web form. The resident chooses who Gateway may talk to about scheduling and care.

Will my insurance cover wound care visits in Downtown St. Louis?

It depends on your plan, the treating provider and the care that is needed, so there is no general yes or no. You can ask us about Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and commercial plans. Have your insurance cards ready when you call. Gateway and the treating provider’s office check participation and benefits for your specific plan, and you can ask what you may owe before the first visit takes place.

Who do we call with a question between wound visits in Downtown St. Louis?

It depends on the question. For anything about the wound itself, such as a change in how it looks or a dressing that is not working, call the treating clinician’s office, and ask for that number at the first visit. For scheduling, supplies or records for a patient in Downtown St. Louis, call Gateway at 314-325-0126. If a home health nurse is involved, the agency has its own line. Keep all three numbers together.

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.