Wound care at home in O’Fallon

O’Fallon, Illinois is a St. Clair County city on Interstate 64, with Shiloh to the south, Fairview Heights to the west and Lebanon farther east. Scott Air Force Base is nearby, and many households have a tie to it, from active-duty families to retirees who decided to stay. The city has grown outward from its old downtown into wide areas of newer subdivisions. Even with a hospital in town, regular trips for wound care or follow-up visits are tiring for someone who is recovering or frail, and care arranged at home or in a facility spares them that.

Newer single-family homes make up much of O’Fallon, joined by older houses near downtown, townhomes, apartments and communities built for older adults. Assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing are available in and near the city. Gateway arranges visits with partner clinicians in all of these settings. When relatives are helping from a distance, we can plan the visit with them by phone and keep them posted. When the patient lives in a facility, we coordinate with the staff so the treating clinician can review the chart and leave clear orders.

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

Gateway arranges wound care in St. Louis across the city, the county and the Metro East, and O'Fallon is part of that area.

Home visits in O’Fallon

For a family caregiver, the hard part of a parent’s wound is often the logistics: time off work, getting someone with a sore leg into a car, a long wait at a clinic. When Gateway arranges wound care at home in O’Fallon, the visit comes to the house instead. You can be in the room, join by phone or ask for a call afterward, as long as the patient agrees. Tell us who helps with dressing changes and how much they can realistically do. The treating clinician uses that to build a plan the household can carry out. Our page for families caring for someone with a wound explains more.

Wound care in facilities in O’Fallon

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 O’Fallon, 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 O’Fallon

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 O’Fallon.

See every wound condition and all wound care services.

Coming home from the hospital

HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital is here in O’Fallon, and Memorial Hospital Shiloh is just over the city line. Gateway is not affiliated with either one. With two hospitals this close, the ride home after a stay is short, but the questions about what happens next are the same as anywhere. A relative can call us before discharge day to ask about follow-up, and discharge planners can refer by phone or fax. We request the summary and orders, confirm whether the patient is going home or to a facility, and arrange a visit with a partner clinician.

Hospitals and senior care near O’Fallon

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

  • Hospitals nearby: HSHS St. Elizabeth's Hospital in O'Fallon, Illinois; Memorial Hospital Shiloh
  • Skilled nursing and rehabilitation nearby: Evercare of Collinsville (Collinsville 62234); Memorial Care Center (Belleville 62226); Helia Southbelt Healthcare (Belleville 62220); Nexus Pavilion at Belleville (Belleville 62226)

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).

Looking after the whole patient

Already have a primary care doctor you like? Keep them. Wound care arranged through Gateway in O’Fallon 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 O'Fallon →

Getting care in O’Fallon, Illinois

Say “O’Fallon, Illinois” and give the ZIP code 62269 when you call, since there is an O’Fallon in Missouri too. Have the street address, a phone number, the discharge date if there was a hospital stay, and the names of the patient’s doctors. Gateway also arranges care in Fairview Heights, Belleville, Collinsville and other parts of St. Clair County. O’Fallon is easy to reach from Interstate 64, but availability still depends on location and care setting, and we confirm it before scheduling.

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

Not sure the wound is serious enough to call about? Call anyway. A sore that has not improved in a few weeks, a surgical incision that has opened or a dressing routine that has become too much for the family are all reasonable grounds to ask. Reach Gateway at 314-325-0126 or at [email protected] (save medical details for the phone call). We will ask about the patient’s location in O’Fallon, explain how visits with partner clinicians are arranged and tell you plainly if what you need is something we cannot set up.

  • County: St. Clair County, Illinois
  • ZIP codes: 62269
  • Care settings: Private homes, skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and rehabilitation

Nearby: Fairview Heights, Belleville, Illinois, St. Clair County, Illinois, Collinsville

Insurance and coverage

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

Is this information for O’Fallon, Illinois or O’Fallon, Missouri?

This information is for O’Fallon in St. Clair County, Illinois, ZIP code 62269. There is also an O’Fallon in St. Charles County, Missouri, and the two are easy to confuse. When you call 314-325-0126, give the state and ZIP code along with the street address so the request is matched to the correct location. Availability is confirmed by location and care setting.

I live close to HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon. Why would I need visits at home?

Living near a hospital does not make it easier to leave the house. Getting dressed, into a car and through a parking lot is hard with a painful wound, a walker or a caregiver who works. Hospitals focus on urgent and inpatient needs, while ongoing wound checks and routine follow-up can often be done where you live. The treating clinician will tell you if you need hospital or outpatient care.

Can a military retiree or a service member’s relative living in O’Fallon request care?

Yes. Anyone in O’Fallon can call Gateway to ask about care, with or without a referral. Have the insurance card available. You can ask about Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and commercial plans, and whether a particular plan applies depends on the treating provider, the plan and the care needed. If family members are deployed or live elsewhere, tell us who the local contact should be.

My mother is moving from our house in O’Fallon to assisted living nearby. Does her care have to start over?

It should not have to. Let us know the move date and the name of the community. Gateway confirms availability for the new setting, introduces the request to the facility staff and coordinates the transfer of records and current orders. The treating clinician decides whether anything in the plan needs to change after the move. We also update where supplies are sent.

Can I call Gateway about a parent who lives in O’Fallon?

Yes. Adult children, spouses, friends and paid caregivers are welcome to call, including relatives who live in another city or state. Tell us the patient’s name, their address in O’Fallon and your relationship. We will want to confirm that the patient, or their legal decision-maker, agrees to the request and to our sharing updates with you. After that, you can be the main contact for scheduling if the patient wants that.

How often will a clinician see a wound patient in O’Fallon?

The treating clinician sets the visit schedule based on the wound, and it usually changes over time. A wound that is new or changing may be seen more often than one that is steadily improving. Ask at the first visit what schedule to expect and what would change it. Gateway keeps follow-up visits on the calendar for patients in O’Fallon and lets you know if a time has to move.

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.