Wound care at home in Imperial
Imperial is an unincorporated part of northeastern Jefferson County, strung along Interstate 55 between Arnold and Festus. Mastodon State Historic Site sits beside the interstate here, and the river town of Kimmswick is a short drive away. Off the highway the land turns to wooded hills, creek valleys and winding county roads. Hospital and specialty appointments usually mean a drive north into St. Louis County or south to Festus, most of it at highway speed. For many households, care at home or in a facility is the practical choice.
Housing in Imperial covers a wide range. There are subdivisions near the interstate, older houses along the main roads, manufactured homes and properties on several acres reached by long driveways. Senior apartments, assisted living and skilled nursing care are found in and around this part of Jefferson County. Gateway arranges visits with partner clinicians wherever the person lives. Because Imperial is unincorporated and its mailing addresses cover a wide area, we confirm the street address, the nearest crossroad and the county before a first visit is scheduled.
For an overview of how home visits work across the region, see 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 Imperial and nearby communities.
Home visits in Imperial
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 Imperial 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.
Skilled nursing, assisted living and rehabilitation
When your relative lives in a facility in Imperial, you are usually not in the room when the wound is seen. You can still be part of the plan. With the resident’s permission, or as the legal health care decision-maker, you can ask who is treating the wound, when it was last measured and what happens next. Useful steps:
- ask the nurse manager which day the wound clinician visits
- request that the wound be discussed at the next care plan meeting
- give the facility and Gateway one family contact for updates
Gateway can also set up a call with the wound care team when the floor staff cannot answer your question.
Types of wounds
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 Imperial.
- Diabetic foot ulcers
- Venous leg ulcers
- Pressure injuries and bed sores
- Arterial and mixed wounds
- Non-healing wounds
- Post-surgical wounds
- Reopened (dehisced) surgical wounds
- Surgical site infections
- Skin tears and traumatic wounds
- Wounds with lymphedema
- Skin graft aftercare
- Wound VAC (NPWT) follow-up
See every wound condition and all wound care services.
After a hospital or rehab stay
Imperial lies between two hospitals: Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Festus, to the south, and Mercy Hospital South in St. Louis County, to the north. Gateway has no affiliation with either. When a patient is sent home with a surgical wound, a pressure injury or a new set of medications, a family member can call us to ask about follow-up visits. Hospital case managers can refer the same way or by fax at 314-786-7966. We collect the discharge paperwork and coordinate the next steps with a partner clinician.
Facilities near Imperial
These facilities are in or near Imperial. They come from public directories and are listed only to help you get your bearings.
- Hospitals nearby: Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Festus; Mercy Hospital South
- Skilled nursing and rehabilitation nearby: Woodland Manor Nursing Center (Arnold 63010); Crystal Oaks (Festus 63028); South County Health Care Center (Arnold 63010); Hillcrest Care Center (De Soto 63020)
- Assisted living and memory care nearby: Meadowview Memory Care (Arnold 63010); Pine Valley at the Woodlands (Arnold 63010); Cedarhurst of Arnold (Arnold 63010)
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 Imperial
Families and facility staff in Imperial often end up as the go-between, repeating the same history to a wound clinician, a primary care office and a specialist. Arranging wound care and primary care together cuts down on that. One request to Gateway starts both. We gather the records once, share them with each treating clinician and keep a single contact list for the care team. When the wound clinician recommends a lab test, a referral or a change the primary care clinician should weigh in on, we route it to them.
Getting care in Imperial
Before you call about someone in Imperial, write down the address with the 63052 ZIP code, a callback number, the name of the regular doctor and the pharmacy. Mention gravel roads, gates or dogs so the clinician can plan the arrival. Distance from the main roads affects which days a visit can be offered, and we confirm availability by location. The same number, 314-325-0126, serves Arnold, Festus and Crystal City and the rest of Jefferson County, along with Oakville in St. Louis County.
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 Imperial. 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: Jefferson County, Missouri
- ZIP codes: 63052
- Care settings: Private homes, skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and rehabilitation
Nearby: Arnold, Jefferson County, Festus and Crystal City, Oakville
Insurance and coverage
Employer and individual health plans vary widely, so the most reliable source is the member services number on the back of your card. Useful things to ask the plan: whether visits at home are a benefit, whether a referral or prior authorization is required, and where your deductible stands this year. Share what you learn with Gateway. We pass plan details to the treating provider’s office, which checks its own participation. Coverage under a commercial plan is never something we can promise.
Common questions
Imperial is unincorporated. Does that affect whether Gateway can arrange care there?
No. Whether a place has a city government makes no difference to us. What matters is the exact location and the care setting. Give us the street address and ZIP code when you call, and we will check visit availability with partner clinicians for that part of Jefferson County and tell you what we find.
Can Gateway arrange wound care in Imperial without a doctor’s referral?
You can call us directly without a referral. Patients, family members and caregivers all do. We take the request, ask a few questions and work on arranging a visit with a partner clinician. The treating clinician then decides what care is needed. Whether your insurance plan requires a referral or an authorization is a separate question we can help you ask.
My father lives alone in Imperial and I live in St. Louis. Can I set things up for him?
Yes. Adult children often make the first call. Have his address, phone number, regular doctor and a time when someone can let the clinician in. With his permission, we can keep you informed about scheduling and follow-up. If he has trouble hearing the phone or answering the door, tell us so the visit can be planned around that.
Which Medicare or insurance plans work for visits in Imperial?
It depends on the treating provider, your plan and the care needed. You can ask us about Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and commercial plans, and we will help you find out what applies before a visit is scheduled. Have your insurance card nearby when you call 314-325-0126. We cannot tell you a service is paid for until that is checked.
What records does Gateway need for a patient in Imperial?
The treating clinician can start with very little, but a few records make the first visit more useful: recent hospital or clinic notes about the wound, current wound orders, a medication list, recent lab results and the names of the clinicians involved. You do not have to collect these yourself. With the patient’s permission, Gateway requests them from the offices and facilities that have them, in Imperial or elsewhere.
What should someone in Imperial do if a wound suddenly gets much worse?
Call 911 for bleeding that will not stop, trouble breathing, chest pain, sudden confusion or a person who seems very ill. Gateway is not an emergency service. For changes that are not emergencies, such as more redness, swelling, drainage, odor or pain, or a fever, contact the treating clinician’s office promptly instead of waiting for the next scheduled visit. If you cannot reach the office and are worried, seek urgent care.
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.