Wound care at home in Franklin County

Franklin County lies west of St. Louis County, where the suburbs thin out into river towns, farms and wooded hills. Interstate 44 runs through Pacific, St. Clair and Sullivan. Washington sits on the Missouri River to the north, and Union, the county seat, is in between. Distances are measured differently here. A trip to a specialist can take most of a morning, and winter weather or high water can close a road. For residents who need frequent wound care or regular medical follow-up, having a clinician come to the home or facility can be the most workable arrangement.

Homes in Franklin County include houses in town in Washington, Union and Pacific, subdivisions near the highways, manufactured homes, and farmhouses at the end of long gravel drives. Senior apartments, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities are concentrated in the larger towns. Gateway arranges partner clinician visits across these settings, with attention to the practical side: exact directions, whether a regular car can make the driveway, and whether cell phones work at the house. In facilities, we coordinate with the nursing staff so the treating clinician’s orders and supplies arrive together.

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

Families in Franklin County can also start with the overview of wound care in St. Louis, from wound types to what to expect at the first visit.

Towns and communities in Franklin County

Each local page covers ZIP codes, nearby hospitals and facilities, and how to start care in that community.

When the visit comes to the home

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 Franklin County 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.

Wound care in facilities in Franklin County

Wound rounds bring the clinician to the residents instead of sending residents out. In skilled nursing facilities in Franklin County, Gateway works with the director of nursing or the wound nurse to set a regular rounding day and a list of residents to be seen. On facility wound rounds, a partner clinician goes room to room, ideally with a facility nurse alongside, examines and measures each wound and decides what changes in the plan. New admissions and residents with a new skin concern are added to the list as they come up. Between rounds, Gateway keeps the list current, tracks open orders and makes sure questions from the floor reach the clinician.

Wounds you can call about

Wounds that are slow to heal usually have a cause behind them, such as pressure, swelling, poor circulation or diabetes. Finding that cause is where the treating clinician begins. These are the wound types Gateway helps arrange care for in Franklin County, at home and in facilities.

See every wound condition and all wound care services.

After a hospital or rehab stay

Mercy Hospital Washington is the hospital many Franklin County residents use, and some patients are sent on to larger hospitals in St. Louis for surgery or specialty care. Gateway is not affiliated with any hospital. Whichever one the patient is leaving, the handoff works the same way. The discharge planner faxes a referral with the wound orders, or the family calls with the discharge date. We collect the records, confirm the home or facility address in Franklin County, and arrange follow-up with a treating clinician, so the wound has a plan after discharge.

Nearby hospitals, skilled nursing and assisted living

These facilities are in or near Franklin County. They come from public directories and are listed only to help you get your bearings.

  • Hospitals nearby: Mercy Hospital Washington
  • Skilled nursing and rehabilitation nearby: Pacific Care Center (Pacific 63069); Life Care Center of Sullivan (Sullivan 63080); Grandview Healthcare Center (Washington 63090); Sunset Health Care Center (Union 63084)
  • Assisted living and memory care nearby: Willow Brooke Assisted Living (Union 63084); South Pointe Assisted Living (Washington 63090); Dunsford Court Memory Care (Sullivan 63080)

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 Franklin County

People with long-standing wounds often take many medications ordered by several different offices. Some medicines can affect healing, swelling or the risk of falls, and it may be that no one is looking at the full list. When Gateway arranges primary care follow-up in Franklin County, a medication review by the treating clinician is a typical part of it. Do not stop or change anything on your own. Keep an up-to-date list, including over-the-counter products, and have it out at every visit.

Primary care at home in Franklin County →

Getting care in Franklin County

Be specific about location when you call. Franklin County is large, and a Union or St. Clair mailing address can be many miles from town. Give the ZIP code (63090, 63084, 63069, 63077 or 63080 for the main towns), the road name, and landmarks near your turn. Tell us the days someone is home. Visits this far west are planned by area, often together with nearby Eureka, Wildwood or northern Jefferson County, so we may offer particular days. Availability is always confirmed by location and care setting.

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

No referral is needed to ask Gateway about wound care in Franklin County. 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: Franklin County, Missouri
  • ZIP codes: 63090, 63084, 63069, 63077, 63080
  • Care settings: Private homes, skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and rehabilitation

Nearby: Washington, Missouri, Eureka, Wildwood, Jefferson County

Insurance and coverage

Whether a visit is a covered benefit is the first thing most people ask, and the fair answer is that it depends. Three things decide it: the treating provider, your plan and the care that is needed. Gateway can take questions about coverage for Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and commercial insurance, and we work with the treating provider’s office to check participation and benefits before a visit is scheduled. We tell you what we learn and what is still unknown, instead of guessing.

Common questions

Which towns in Franklin County can request care through Gateway?

Requests are welcome from Washington, Union, Pacific, St. Clair, Sullivan and the smaller communities and rural routes around them. Franklin County covers a lot of ground, so availability varies more here than in the inner suburbs. Call with the address and ZIP code, and we will check which partner clinicians are seeing patients in that part of the county and what can be arranged.

We live on a farm in Franklin County. How will the clinician find the house?

With your help. Give us the 911 address, the name of the county road or highway, and landmarks such as a mailbox color, a barn or a gate. Say whether the driveway is gravel, whether a creek crossing floods, and whether map apps send drivers the wrong way. Add a phone number that works at the house. We pass all of this to the visiting clinician.

Are home visits in Franklin County scheduled differently from visits closer to St. Louis?

Somewhat. Because of the distances, visits in Franklin County are generally planned by area so a clinician can see several patients on one trip. That can mean fewer choices of day than in the city. Weather and road conditions matter more as well. We explain the options when you call, and we will not promise a time we cannot confirm.

Can someone in Franklin County use Gateway and still keep their local doctor?

Yes. Arranging wound care or in-home follow-up through Gateway does not replace the family doctor in Washington, Union or wherever the patient goes. The treating clinician handles the visits Gateway arranges, and notes are sent to the local doctor so everyone is working from the same information. Tell us the doctor’s name and office when you call so we can set that up.

Who actually provides the wound care that Gateway arranges in Franklin County?

Partner clinicians do, meaning independent treating practices that Gateway works with. The treating clinician examines the wound, makes the diagnosis and writes the orders. Gateway is the coordinating company around that visit. We handle the request, scheduling, records, supply orders, transportation arrangements and communication among the people involved in Franklin County. If you want to know who the treating clinician will be, ask us before the visit.

How do wound dressings and supplies get to a patient in Franklin County?

The treating clinician orders what the wound plan calls for, and the order goes to a medical supplier that ships to the address in Franklin County. In a nursing facility, supplies often come through the facility instead. Gateway tracks the order and checks on it if a delivery is late or the wrong item arrives. Whether supplies are covered, and in what quantity, is decided by the patient’s plan, so ask us to confirm before you count on it.

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.