Wound care at home in Tower Grove
Tower Grove sits on the south side of St. Louis around Tower Grove Park, the long Victorian park that gives the neighborhood its name. Grand Boulevard runs along the east side, and Morganford Road is the main street through Tower Grove South. Tree-lined blocks of brick houses surround the park, and the Missouri Botanical Garden is close by. Many residents have kept the same address for decades and like walking their own streets. When a wound makes walking hard, care at home keeps life on those blocks possible.
Homes around the park are mostly brick: two-family flats, four-family buildings, narrow single-family houses and a few larger Victorian homes divided into apartments. Entrances often mean a steep stoop, a shared hallway and an upstairs door. Older adults may live alone on the second floor with relatives nearby but not in the building. Gateway arranges visits by partner clinicians in these homes, in senior apartments and in care facilities. Care at home saves a long trip down the stairs and a wait in a crowded office.
Gateway arranges the same kind of visit across the region. Read more about mobile wound care in St. Louis.
For people in Tower Grove weighing a clinic against home visits, the St. Louis wound care guide explains how each works.
How wound care at home works in Tower Grove
If a home health nurse already comes to your home in Tower Grove, wound care arranged through Gateway works alongside that service and does not replace it. The roles are different. The home health nurse usually handles dressing changes and teaching between visits. The treating wound clinician examines the wound, decides on the plan and writes or updates the orders the nurse follows. Gateway’s work on wound care alongside home health keeps the two in step: visit notes and order changes go to the agency, and the nurse’s concerns go to the clinician. If you have no home health agency, the clinician can decide whether one should be requested.
Skilled nursing, assisted living and rehabilitation
Directors of nursing and administrators in Tower Grove can ask Gateway about wound visits for a whole building or for a single resident. Before the first visit, we settle a few things with the facility:
- which day the partner clinician comes and how the resident list is sent
- how findings and orders get back to nursing for the facility’s record
- who is called when a wound changes between visits
- how new admissions and new skin concerns are added
The facility’s nurses continue the daily treatments, and its attending physicians keep overall responsibility for each resident. Our page for skilled nursing facilities has more for facility teams.
Wound conditions we help with in Tower Grove
Some wounds on this list are new, such as a surgical incision or a skin tear. Others have been open for months. In either case, Gateway can arrange for a partner clinician to assess the wound at home or in a facility in Tower Grove and to set the plan from there.
- 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.
Hospitals and discharge planning near Tower Grove
After a hospital stay, people from Tower Grove are commonly discharged from SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond Heights or Mercy Hospital South. Gateway is not affiliated with any of them. A case manager can send a referral, or a family member can call once the patient is home. We ask for the discharge summary and wound orders, then confirm whether a partner clinician is available for that address.
Facilities near Tower Grove
These facilities are in or near Tower Grove. They come from public directories and are listed only to help you get your bearings.
- Hospitals nearby: SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital; Barnes-Jewish Hospital; SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital in Richmond Heights; Mercy Hospital South
- Skilled nursing and rehabilitation nearby: Lansdowne Village (St. Louis 63116); Magnolia Wellness Center (St. Louis 63118); Pine Grove Manor (St. Louis 63116); Oak Park Care Center (St. Louis 63139)
- Assisted living and memory care nearby: Silver Spur (St. Louis 63118); St. Louis Hills Assisted Living and Memory Care (St. Louis 63109); Chateau Ann Marie (St. Louis 63111)
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 Tower Grove
A wound is rarely only a skin problem. Blood sugar, circulation, swelling in the legs, nutrition and how much a person can move all affect how it heals, and those are primary care matters. That is why Gateway arranges primary care and wound care together for people in Tower Grove who want it. The wound clinician looks after the wound. A primary care clinician looks at the conditions underneath it. Gateway passes notes between the two, so the plans do not pull against each other.
Gateway also arranges primary care at home across St. Louis.
Getting care in Tower Grove
For a Tower Grove visit, tell us which side of the park the address is on and whether the entrance is on the street or in the back. Mention steps, a locked gate or a buzzer that sticks. Parking is usually on the street, so say if a block has permit signs. When you call 314-325-0126, have the patient’s name, a phone number, the regular doctor and any recent hospital or rehab dates ready. Nearby Shaw, Benton Park and Bevo Mill are covered too.
Visits are confirmed by location and care setting, so call 314-325-0126 with your ZIP code to ask about your street.
Calling on behalf of a parent or spouse in Tower Grove is fine, and you do not need every answer. Dial 314-325-0126 and tell us who the patient is, where they live and what worries you about the wound. We will ask whether the patient knows you are calling and who should receive updates. From there, Gateway checks availability for that address, asks permission to request records and works out a visit time that suits the patient and, if you want to be present, you. If you live far from your relative, we can keep you informed by phone.
- County: City of St. Louis, Missouri (an independent city)
- ZIP codes: 63116, 63118
- Care settings: Private homes, skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and rehabilitation
Nearby: Shaw, South St. Louis, Bevo Mill, Benton Park, The Hill
Paying for care
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
My mother lives in a flat near Tower Grove Park and can barely manage the stairs. Can she be seen without going out?
Yes, you can ask. Visits are arranged at the patient’s door, even when the unit is upstairs. Tell us which entrance to use, whether someone can open the door and where she is most comfortable sitting. The treating clinician decides what care she needs after seeing her, and Gateway coordinates records and supplies afterward.
Does Gateway cover the streets south of the park, like Morganford Road?
Yes. The area south of Tower Grove Park, including blocks along Morganford Road, is within the area where Gateway arranges care. Give us the full address and ZIP code when you call 314-325-0126. Availability is confirmed for each location and care setting, so we will tell you what is possible for that address.
Two of my relatives live in the same Tower Grove building. Can they be seen on one visit?
You can ask us to plan it that way. Tell us both unit numbers and whether each person has the same regular doctor. Each patient has their own treating clinician and their own orders, so each is assessed separately. Scheduling them together can save the building a second set of arrivals, but it depends on the partner clinician.
Can Gateway help after a stay at a hospital on the other side of Forest Park?
Yes. It does not matter which hospital the patient left, as long as the discharge paperwork can be shared. Call us with the hospital name, the discharge date and the Tower Grove address. We request the wound orders and records and confirm availability with a partner clinician. We are not part of any hospital, so the request comes from you or the discharge planner.
How do wound dressings and supplies get to a patient in Tower Grove?
The treating clinician orders what the wound plan calls for, and the order goes to a medical supplier that ships to the address in Tower Grove. 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.
What records does Gateway need for a patient in Tower Grove?
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 Tower Grove or elsewhere.
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.