Consumer Directed Services in Hazelwood, Missouri

Communicare Elite provides MO HealthNet Consumer Directed Services to residents of Hazelwood and the surrounding north St. Louis County area. If you are eligible, you choose your own personal care attendant — including a family member other than your spouse — and we handle payroll, program paperwork and Medicaid billing.

Why home care matters in Hazelwood

Hazelwood is one of our nearest neighbors — a few minutes north of the office, wrapped around the airport and the industrial corridor that has employed generations of families here. Many older residents are retired from Boeing, from Ford’s old Hazelwood assembly plant, or from the logistics operations that replaced them, and they are living in the modest post-war houses those jobs paid for.

Proximity has a practical benefit that is easy to overlook. Because Hazelwood is so close to our office, it is straightforward for consumers and attendants here to come in person when something needs sorting out — a timesheet question, a piece of onboarding paperwork, a payroll problem worth resolving face to face rather than over the phone. That matters more than it sounds when the alternative is a call center in another state.

How CDS works for Hazelwood residents

1. Confirm you are likely eligible. You need to be 18 or older, eligible for MO HealthNet, physically disabled, able to direct your own care, and assessed at a nursing facility level of care. Full requirements.
2. Request a state assessment. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services assesses you at home. Their referral line is 866-835-3505.
3. Receive an authorized care plan listing the tasks and hours approved for you. What can be authorized.
4. Choose Communicare Elite as your CDS vendor.
5. Hire your attendant — anyone but your spouse, subject to background screening. How to choose.
6. Work begins. You and your attendant sign biweekly timesheets; we run payroll and bill Medicaid. How pay works.

What your attendant can help with

See the full list of covered tasks →

Getting paid to care for a family member in Hazelwood

If you already help a parent, an adult child, a sibling or a friend in Hazelwood, that work can become paid employment. Missouri law excludes only the consumer’s spouse from being a paid personal care attendant — every other relationship is eligible.

How family caregivers get paid →

Distance from our office

Communicare Elite is at 4477 Woodson Rd, Suite 106, St. Louis, MO 63134, minutes from Lambert International Airport — roughly about 10 minutes from Hazelwood. Most business is handled by phone, but you are welcome at the office; call ahead so someone is expecting you.

Questions from Hazelwood families

How close is your office to Hazelwood?

About ten minutes. We are at 4477 Woodson Rd, Suite 106, just south of the airport.

Can I come to the office rather than doing everything by phone?

Yes, and for Hazelwood residents that is often the easiest route. Call (314) 809-6655 first so someone is expecting you.

Does aircraft noise or the airport affect anything?

No — it has no bearing on eligibility or services. It simply means we are easy to reach from anywhere in North County.

Does CDS cost me anything?

No. The program is funded by MO HealthNet. You do not pay Communicare Elite and you do not pay your attendant directly.

Can I switch to Communicare Elite from another vendor?

Yes, without reapplying for the program or losing your authorized hours. How switching works.

Nearby communities we also serve

St. Louis City · St. Louis County · Florissant · Ferguson · Bridgeton · Maryland Heights · University City · Kirkwood · Chesterfield · Arnold · Festus · St. Charles · St. Peters · O’Fallon · Wentzville