Home health care in St. Louis
Communicare Elite is a Missouri-licensed, Medicare-certified home health agency. Home health is skilled clinical care delivered in your own home, under a plan of care ordered by your physician — nursing, therapy, aide support and medical social work.
Coverage: we work with MO HealthNet, private insurance and private pay. We are Medicare-certified but do not currently accept Medicare as payment for home health. Why, and what that means for you →
It is a different service from the Consumer Directed Services program we have run for years, and the two are frequently confused. Here is the difference, and how the two work together →
What we provide
Skilled nursing
Wound care, injections, infusion and IV therapy, catheter and ostomy care, medication management, and monitoring of conditions like heart failure, COPD and diabetes.
Physical, occupational and speech therapy
Rehabilitation at home after a stroke, a fall, surgery or a hospital stay — strength and balance, daily-living skills, and speech and swallowing.
Home health aide
Hands-on personal care delivered under a nurse’s supervision as part of the physician-ordered plan — distinct from a CDS attendant, who works for you directly.
Medical social work
Help with the parts nobody warns you about: benefits, community resources, coping, and planning for what comes after the current episode of care.
How our coordination model works
Communicare Elite coordinates the whole plan. Some visits are delivered by our own staff; others are arranged through partner providers we work with regularly. Either way one agency is accountable for the plan of care, and you have one number to call rather than four.
This matters practically. Home care often fragments — a nurse from one company, a therapist from another, an aide from a third, and nobody holding the whole picture. When your plan of care runs through a single agency, the nurse who notices something can reach the therapist who needs to know, and the plan is revised as one document rather than four.
Who qualifies
Home health is not something you can self-refer into. Broadly, you need:
- An order from your physician or another authorized practitioner, and a plan of care they sign.
- A skilled need — care that legally requires a nurse or a licensed therapist, not care that a family member could reasonably provide.
- Coverage through MO HealthNet, private insurance, or private pay.
- A home we can reach — St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and Missouri communities within about 40 miles.
Full eligibility detail → · How it is paid for →
Both services, one organization
Many of the people we serve need both: skilled care for a specific clinical problem, and ongoing daily personal care that no clinical benefit covers. Communicare Elite is one of the few organizations in the St. Louis area that operates both a Medicare-certified home health agency and an enrolled MO HealthNet Consumer Directed Services vendor.
That means when a home health episode ends — and they always end — the conversation about what happens next does not start from scratch with a stranger. See the CDS program →
Frequently asked questions
Is home health the same as the CDS program?
No. Home health is skilled clinical care ordered by a physician and delivered by licensed clinicians on a time-limited plan of care. CDS is long-term non-medical personal care that you direct yourself, with an attendant you hire. Many people use both. Full comparison.
Do I need a doctor’s order?
Yes. Home health cannot begin without an order and a signed plan of care from your physician or another authorized practitioner. If you think you need it, raise it at your next appointment — or call us and we will explain what to ask for. The referral process.
Are your nurses employees, or contractors?
Both, depending on the service. We deliver some care with our own staff and arrange other services through partner providers. In every case Communicare Elite coordinates and is accountable for the plan of care, and everyone entering your home is licensed and screened for the work they are doing.
How long does home health last?
It is episodic, not permanent. Care continues while there is a skilled need and the plan of care is current, and is reviewed at regular intervals. When the skilled need resolves, the episode ends — which is exactly when it is worth knowing what long-term options exist. What to expect.
Do you serve my area?
St. Louis City, St. Louis County and Missouri communities within roughly 40 miles of our office. Missouri only. See the full service area.
Need skilled care at home?
Call (314) 809-6655, or text (314) 886-5902. Home health starts with an order from your physician — we can talk you through how to get one.