Wound care for home health patients in St. Louis
Home health is a short-term arrangement. An agency sends nurses or therapists to your home under a physician’s orders. Many people on home health also have a wound, such as a surgical incision that is slow to close, a pressure injury or a leg ulcer. The agency’s visits may be frequent, yet the wound may still need a closer look from a clinician who focuses on wounds.
That is where Gateway fits. We arrange wound care visits by partner clinicians and coordinate the work around them. We work with your home health agency, not in place of it.
Who does what
It helps to know each person’s role, since confusion about it is a common reason for missed orders and repeated questions.
- Your home health agency sends its own staff, who follow the orders on file. Between wound visits, agency nurses often change dressings and watch for changes.
- The partner clinician examines the wound, measures it, decides what is working and writes or updates the wound orders. The treating clinician makes every clinical decision.
- Your physician stays in charge of your overall health and signs the orders your agency follows.
- Gateway arranges the visit and coordinates records, orders, supplies and updates among the people above and your family.
- You and your family tell the team what you notice, ask questions and decide who should receive updates.
We do not supervise agency staff, and we do not direct their care. Each group stays responsible for its own part.
How we work alongside your agency
When you call Gateway, we ask whether an agency is already involved and which one. With your permission, we contact the agency to learn the current orders and who is visiting. After the wound visit, we send the updated plan to the agency and to your physician’s office.
This matters because a dressing choice or a visit schedule can change. If the agency keeps using an old order, the wound may not get the care the clinician intended. Sharing the new plan is how we try to prevent that. Agencies can read more on our page about wound care coordination with home health, which is written for them.
What you can do to help
Small habits make coordination easier:
- Tell us the agency’s name and the phone number for its office.
- Keep the current orders, medication list and discharge papers in one folder.
- Ask each agency nurse what dressing was used and when, and write it down.
- Tell the wound clinician what the agency has already tried.
- Say which family member should receive updates.
A simple notebook by the bed works well. Our guide to keeping a wound care visit notebook has ideas for what to write down.
Supplies and equipment
Wound dressings and equipment can be supplied several ways. Sometimes the agency provides certain items, and sometimes a supplier delivers them under the clinician’s order. When the plan changes, the supply order may need to change too.
Gateway coordinates wound supplies and equipment and follows up on deliveries. Whether a particular item is a covered benefit depends on your plan, the treating provider and the care you need, so ask your plan and your clinician early.
Arranging a visit
Call 314-325-0126 and give us the patient’s ZIP code and care setting. Visits are confirmed by location, and we do not promise a day or time on the first call. No referral is needed to start. Family members and caregivers can call for someone else, and you can also send a name and number through the request care form. Please keep medical details for the phone call.
When to call for help
Tell your agency nurse or the treating clinician’s office if you see redness or warmth that is spreading, more pain, more drainage or a change in its smell, fever or chills, or a dressing that will not stay in place. For a medical emergency, call 911. Gateway is not an emergency service.
Common questions
Is Gateway a home health agency?
No. Gateway does not provide home health services and is not a home health agency. We arrange wound care visits by partner clinicians and coordinate around them. Your home health agency continues to provide its own services, and we work with it.
Can I keep my home health agency and also have a wound care clinician visit?
Many people do. The agency and the wound clinician do different jobs. Ask your agency and your physician if they have any concerns, and tell the agency about the wound visits. Whether your plan has rules about services that overlap is a question for the plan and the treating provider.
Who will change my dressing between wound visits?
It depends on the orders and your situation. An agency nurse, a family caregiver, a community’s staff or you may do it. The clinician’s written orders state the dressing and how often it is changed. If nobody can manage the changes, say so at the visit.
What if the agency and the wound clinician disagree?
Do not choose between them on your own. Ask both to speak with your physician, and tell us. Gateway can pass along the orders and questions so the people responsible can sort it out. Do not stop or change a treatment until the clinician in charge tells you to.
Can my daughter or son be part of the visits?
Yes, if you agree. A family member can hear the plan, ask questions and learn what to watch for. Tell Gateway who should get updates, and ask whether they can join by phone if they cannot be there. Our guide on home health versus mobile wound care can also help families sort out roles.
Related pages
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.