Skilled nursing at home · St. Louis
Skilled nursing at home
Skilled nursing is care that legally requires a licensed nurse — the things a family member cannot safely be asked to do. It is ordered by your physician, documented in a plan of care, and delivered in your home on a visit schedule rather than around the clock.
What does a skilled nurse do at home?
- Wound care, including surgical wounds and pressure injuries
- Injections and infusion therapy
- IV antibiotics and other IV medication
- Catheter care and changes
- Ostomy care and teaching
- Medication set-up, review and management
- Monitoring of heart failure, COPD, diabetes and other conditions
- Teaching you and your family to manage care yourselves
That last one is the point of the whole service, and it gets overlooked. A large part of skilled nursing is teaching — showing you how to change a dressing, recognize the early signs your condition is worsening, or manage a new medication. Care that makes itself unnecessary is the goal, not a failure of it.
What happens during a home nursing visit?
Visits usually run under an hour and follow a rhythm: the nurse checks vital signs and how you have been since the last visit, performs the ordered care, reviews medications, teaches whatever needs teaching, and documents everything for the plan of care and your physician.
Frequency is set by clinical need, not by preference — it might be daily for a complex wound and weekly for stable monitoring, and it changes as you improve.
When should you call the nurse between visits?
For chest pain, difficulty breathing, signs of stroke, or severe bleeding, call 911 — not us. Home health is not an emergency service. Between visits, call us about a wound that looks worse or smells bad, a fever, sudden weight gain or swelling, confusion, a fall, or a medication you cannot take as directed.
Who provides the care
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.
Is skilled nursing at home 24-hour care?
It is not around-the-clock care, and it is not a substitute for daily personal help. Nurses visit; they do not stay. If what you actually need is someone there for hours each day helping with bathing, meals and getting around, that is personal care — and for MO HealthNet participants it is usually the Consumer Directed Services program instead of, or alongside, home health.
See the CDS program → · Compare the two →
Frequently asked questions
Can skilled nursing be done at home?
Yes. Wound care, injections, infusion therapy, IV antibiotics, catheter and ostomy care, medication management and condition monitoring can all be done in your own home. A licensed nurse visits on a schedule set by your plan of care, performs the ordered care, and teaches you and your family to manage between visits.
What qualifies a patient for skilled nursing care at home?
You need care that legally requires a licensed nurse, the things a family member cannot safely be asked to do. Your physician has to order it, and it is documented in a plan of care. If you are not sure whether your needs qualify, call us and we will talk you through how to get an order.
How often does a home health nurse visit?
As often as your condition requires. Frequency is set by clinical need, not preference: it might be daily for a complex wound and weekly for stable monitoring, and it changes as you improve. Most visits run under an hour. Skilled nursing is not around-the-clock care; nurses visit, they do not stay.
Need skilled care at home?
Call us, or text us. Home health starts with an order from your physician — we can talk you through how to get one.