Wound care at home in Hazelwood

Hazelwood stretches along Interstate 270 in North County, an irregularly shaped city bordered by Florissant, Bridgeton and the land around Lambert airport. Warehouses and business parks share the map with residential streets, and Lindbergh Boulevard ties the two together. People here are used to getting on the highway for almost everything. That works until a health problem makes travel difficult. Wound care and primary care brought to a Hazelwood home or care facility let treatment go on without a highway trip each time, which matters most for patients who depend on someone else to drive.

Residential Hazelwood is a mix of ranch homes, split-levels, townhouses and a good number of apartment complexes near Lindbergh Boulevard and the interstate. Senior apartments, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities are located in the city and in the towns next to it. Gateway arranges partner clinician visits in all of them. Apartment visits need a building and unit number and sometimes a gate code. Facility visits are coordinated with the nurse in charge. In every setting the treating clinician decides the care, and Gateway handles the logistics.

For an overview of how home visits work across the region, see mobile wound care in St. Louis.

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

Home visits in Hazelwood

You do not need special equipment to have a wound seen at home in Hazelwood. What helps is simple: good light, a chair or bed where the wound can be reached, a clear surface for supplies and pets kept in another room. Put the dressings you are using, your medication list and any discharge papers in one place. If stairs, a locked building entrance, a gate code or parking could be a problem, mention it when the visit is scheduled. Gateway passes those details to the clinician and confirms the visit time with you beforehand. If a relative wants to listen in by phone, tell us that too.

For residents of senior living and nursing facilities

Assisted living is not a nursing home, and that matters for wounds. Assisted living communities in Hazelwood differ in how much nursing they have on site and in what their staff are permitted to do, so the first question is who will change the dressing between clinician visits. Sometimes it is the community’s nurse. Often it is a home health nurse who comes in, and sometimes a family member. For wound care in assisted living, Gateway arranges for a partner clinician to see the resident in their own apartment. We then make sure the orders reach whoever does the daily care and that staff know what to watch for and whom to call.

Wound conditions we help with in Hazelwood

You do not need to know the name of a wound to ask for help. If a sore on a leg, foot, heel or tailbone is not closing, or a surgical incision has opened, that is enough reason to call. For reference, these are the kinds of wounds Gateway arranges care for in Hazelwood.

See every wound condition and all wound care services.

Hospitals and discharge planning near Hazelwood

SSM Health DePaul Hospital in Bridgeton is the closest hospital for most of Hazelwood, and Christian Hospital in North County is a short drive east on Interstate 270. Gateway is not affiliated with either one. Patients sent home with a surgical wound, a pressure injury or a leg ulcer need someone to follow it. Discharge planners can fax a referral with orders and demographics. Family members can call with the hospital name and discharge date. Gateway requests the records, confirms the Hazelwood address, and arranges the follow-up visit with a treating clinician.

Nearby hospitals, skilled nursing and assisted living

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

  • Hospitals nearby: SSM Health DePaul Hospital in Bridgeton; Christian Hospital in North County
  • Skilled nursing and rehabilitation nearby: Florissant Valley Health & Rehabilitation Center (Florissant 63031); St. Sophia Health & Rehabilitation Center (Florissant 63031); Christian Extended Care & Rehabilitation (St. Louis 63136); Avenir at Mark Twain (Bridgeton 63044)
  • Assisted living and memory care nearby: Fields of Florissant (Florissant 63033); Garden Villas North (Black Jack 63033); Veronica House (Bridgeton 63044)

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

Closing a wound is one goal. Keeping the next one from opening is another, and that work belongs largely to primary care. Regular skin and foot checks, attention to swelling and blood sugar, and a plan for staying mobile all lower the chance that a healed wound comes back. For patients in Hazelwood, Gateway can arrange for primary care follow-up to continue after wound visits end, so a clinician is still watching the things that led to the wound.

Primary care at home in Hazelwood →

Getting care in Hazelwood

Hazelwood addresses can be confusing because the city has an irregular outline and borders several other municipalities. When you call, give the full street address in 63042 and the name of the apartment complex or subdivision. Have a daytime phone number and the name of the patient’s doctor. Tell us if the clinician should call on arrival instead of knocking. Nearby, Gateway also arranges care in Florissant, Bridgeton, Ferguson, Maryland Heights and across North County, and Hazelwood visits can be planned with those.

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

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

  1. Gateway confirms whether a partner clinician covers the address in Hazelwood 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: St. Louis County, Missouri
  • ZIP codes: 63042
  • Care settings: Private homes, skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and rehabilitation

Nearby: Florissant, Bridgeton, Ferguson, Maryland Heights, North County

Insurance and coverage

A wound care plan can involve more than one bill. The clinician’s visit, the dressings and supplies, home health nursing and any equipment may each come from a different provider or supplier, each with its own coverage rules. That is why Gateway asks about insurance early, for Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and commercial plans alike. We help track what each party needs, such as an order, a form or a prior authorization. Questions about what you will owe are answered by the treating provider and your plan, and you can ask before the first visit.

Common questions

Hazelwood is spread out along Interstate 270. Is every part of the city included?

You can request care from any part of Hazelwood, whether you live near Lindbergh Boulevard, close to the airport or toward the Florissant line. Because the city is so spread out, the partner clinicians available may differ from one end to the other. Give us the street address and we will confirm availability for that location and care setting.

Can care be arranged for someone living in a Hazelwood apartment complex?

Yes. Give us the name of the complex, the building number, the unit and the floor. Tell us about gate codes, where visitors park and whether there are stairs to the unit. If the patient cannot get to the door, let us know who will let the clinician in or how the door will be left. These details go to the visiting clinician before the first visit.

I work shifts and my mother is alone during the day in Hazelwood. Can visits be planned around my schedule?

Tell us your schedule and we will try. Gateway looks for a visit time when you or another helper can be there, though we cannot promise a specific hour, since timing depends on clinician availability in Hazelwood. If no one can be present, the clinician can call you during or after the visit with your mother’s permission, and we can relay scheduling updates by phone.

Does a doctor have to order the visit before Gateway will arrange care in Hazelwood?

No referral is needed to contact us. Patients, family members and caregivers in Hazelwood can call directly, and so can hospitals, facilities and physician offices. After the request, Gateway gathers records and connects the patient with a treating clinician, who determines what care is appropriate and writes any orders. A particular insurance plan may have its own referral rules, which the treating practice can check.

Does the patient have to be homebound to get wound care at home in Hazelwood?

Not necessarily. “Homebound” is a term health plans use mainly for home health agency services. A visit from a treating clinician is a different service, and whether it fits depends on the patient’s condition, the plan and the provider. If leaving home is difficult, painful or unsafe, tell us what makes it so. Gateway passes that to the treating provider, who confirms what applies for an address in Hazelwood.

Who actually provides the wound care that Gateway arranges in Hazelwood?

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 Hazelwood. If you want to know who the treating clinician will be, ask us before the visit.

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.