Mobile wound care and wound care at home in Washington, Missouri.

Mobile wound care close to home in Washington

Washington sits on the south bank of the Missouri River in Franklin County, well west of the St. Louis suburbs. It is the largest city in the county and the place surrounding farm communities come to for shopping, work and medical care. Highway 100 leads east toward St. Louis County and Highway 47 crosses the river to the north. Outside the city limits the roads turn rural fast. For a person with a wound who lives miles out, or who no longer drives, care arranged at home or in a local facility can replace a long round trip.

In Washington you will find older houses near the riverfront downtown, newer subdivisions on the edges of the city, apartments, and farmhouses and homes on acreage in the countryside beyond. Senior apartments, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities serve the city and the smaller towns around it. Gateway arranges visits with partner clinicians in these settings. Because Washington is farther out than most communities we coordinate, we confirm availability by address before anything is scheduled. Clear directions matter on rural routes, so we ask for them.

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 Washington is part of that area.

When the visit comes to the home

You do not need special equipment to have a wound seen at home in Washington. 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.

Wound care in facilities in Washington

Rehabilitation stays are short and busy, and a wound can get lost between therapy sessions. For patients in rehabilitation centers in Washington, Gateway arranges wound visits around the therapy schedule, so the clinician can see the wound without costing the patient a session. The other priority is the next move. Before discharge, we ask where the patient is going, who will do dressing changes there and whether supplies and orders are in place. If follow-up at home or in a long-term care setting is wanted, it can be requested before the patient leaves, so the plan started in rehab continues with the same information.

Wound conditions we help with in Washington

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 Washington.

• Diabetic foot ulcer care in Washington
• Venous leg ulcer care in Washington
• Pressure injury and bed sore care in Washington
• Arterial and mixed wound care in Washington
• Non-healing wound care in Washington
• Post-surgical wound care in Washington
• Care for a reopened surgical wound in Washington
• Wound follow-up after a surgical site infection in Washington
• Skin tear and traumatic wound care in Washington
• Wound care with lymphedema in Washington
• Skin graft and donor-site aftercare in Washington
• Wound VAC and NPWT follow-up in Washington

See every wound condition and all wound care services.

After a hospital or rehab stay

Mercy Hospital Washington is the hospital most local families know, and it is where many people in Washington are admitted or have surgery before coming home. Gateway is not affiliated with the hospital. When a discharge is planned, a relative or a discharge planner can call or fax us with the basics. We request the records, coordinate the treating clinician’s orders and arrange follow-up at the home or facility. Patients sent to a St. Louis hospital for specialty care and then returned to Washington can be referred the same way.

Hospitals and senior care near Washington

Nearby facilities for Washington, taken from public directories, are listed here as a reference.

• Hospitals nearby: Mercy Hospital Washington
• Skilled nursing and rehabilitation nearby: Grandview Healthcare Center (Washington 63090); Marymount Manor (Eureka 63025); St. Andrew's at Francis Place (Eureka 63025); Manchester Rehab and Healthcare Center (Ballwin 63021)
• Assisted living and memory care nearby: South Pointe Assisted Living (Washington 63090); Washington Place Assisted Living (Washington 63090); Washington Place Memory Care (Washington 63090)

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 Washington

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 Washington 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.

Primary care at home in Washington →

Getting care in Washington, Missouri

Calling about someone in Washington? Have the full address ready, including a county road or highway number if the home is outside the city, plus landmarks that help a visitor find the driveway. We will also ask for a callback number, the doctor’s name and any recent hospital paperwork. Gateway coordinates care elsewhere in Franklin County and in Eureka and Wildwood to the east. Because of the distances involved, knowing the exact address early helps us confirm what can be arranged.

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 Washington 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: Franklin County, Missouri
• ZIP codes: 63090
• Care settings: Private homes, skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and rehabilitation

Nearby: Franklin County, Eureka, Wildwood

Coverage questions

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