In the borough of Clearfield, the Old Town Historic District covers four blocks of Victorian homes built 1860-1890, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Houses like the 1880 Murray House survive from the lumber-and-coal boom, and the same era of building shows up across DuBois, Curwensville, Houtzdale, Osceola Mills and the rest of the county's 60 towns.
Those older two-to-three-story houses tend to have narrow, steep staircases, with bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs. Add the hills of west-central Pennsylvania, where many homes sit on slopes with raised entries, and you get a county where getting up the stairs and getting into the house can both be a problem. This page walks through what that means for a stair lift and where to look for help paying for one.
Late-1800s Victorian homes and early-1900s coal-town houses were not built with wide, gentle stairs. A narrow, steep run is common, and that affects which lift fits. A straight staircase with no turns or landings is usually the simplest install, with the rail mounted to the treads rather than the wall.
Many older homes have a turn, a landing partway up or a winder at the bottom. Those call for a curved lift, built to follow the shape of your stairs. In a tight Victorian stairwell, we measure the width, the steepness and the clearance at the top and bottom before recommending anything.
Clearfield County spans about 1,154 square miles of mountainous, heavily wooded terrain in the Appalachian uplands, with the West Branch Susquehanna River running through it and exposed sandstone at places like Bilger's Rocks. On that kind of ground, many older homes are built into slopes with elevated or split-level entries.
That often means outside steps before you ever reach the inside staircase. An outdoor stair lift is made to handle weather on an exterior run. Where someone uses a wheelchair, a platform lift can be a better fit than a seat. Split-level homes, townhouses and walk-up apartments each raise their own questions, so we look at every set of steps a person uses on a normal day.
About 21.6% of Clearfield County residents are 65 or older, and 79.2% are homeowners. Many people here own the house they plan to stay in, and a stair lift lets them keep using the upper floor instead of moving the bedroom downstairs or leaving.
If that includes you or your parent, the VA programs below are worth checking, along with the county's Veteran's Affairs office at 212 East Locust Street in Clearfield, (814) 765-2642.
Two programs listed here name stair lifts directly. Pennsylvania Community HealthChoices can cover a stair glide when it is medically necessary and authorized through your managed care organization. The PHFA ACCESS Home Modification Program offers a zero-interest deferred loan of $1,000 to $10,000, but only for people buying a home with a PHFA Keystone loan.
For people 60 and older, the best first call is usually the local Area Agency on Aging at (814) 765-2696, located at 120 S. 2nd St. in Clearfield. They do assessments for OPTIONS and CHC-related services. Life & Independence for Today can help people with disabilities find home-modification funding. The VA HISA grant does not cover stair lifts, so veterans should ask about other options.
Pennsylvania's Medicaid managed-care program covers stair glides case by case when medically necessary, authorized through your CHC managed care organization, for adults 21+ who meet Medicaid long-term care and nursing-facility level-of-care rules but want to stay home. Call (800) 757-5042.
A state-funded in-home services program for Pennsylvania residents 60 or older with unmet daily needs, with no hard income limit but a sliding co-payment. The source does not mention stair lifts; call (717) 783-1550 or your local Area Agency on Aging.
The assessment and referral point for Clearfield County residents 60 and older seeking OPTIONS or CHC-related in-home and home-modification services. Whether it covers stair lifts is unknown; call (814) 765-2696 to request an assessment.
A zero-interest deferred loan of $1,000 to $10,000 with no monthly payment, covering accessibility work including stair lifts, for homebuyers with a disability (or a disabled household member) using a PHFA Keystone Home Loan or Keystone Government Loan. Work must be done within 90 days of closing; call (855) 827-3466.
A VA grant for medically necessary structural changes such as entrance access and bathroom work, with a lifetime limit of $6,800 or $2,000 depending on eligibility. It does not cover stair lifts; call (877) 222-8387.
VA grants for veterans with specific severe service-connected disabilities to buy, build or modify a home, up to $126,526 (SAH) or $25,350 (SHA) lifetime for FY2026. The source does not mention stair lifts; call (877) 827-3702.
A nonprofit serving people with disabilities in Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, McKean and Potter counties with assessment, referral and help finding home-modification funding. Whether it funds stair lifts is unknown; call (814) 781-3050.
Older adults
120 S. 2nd St., Clearfield, 16830
Veterans
212 East Locust Street, Clearfield, 16830
Often it can. Narrow, steep staircases are common in the county's late-1800s homes, and a straight lift mounts to the treads. If the stairs turn or have a landing, a curved lift built to your staircase is the usual answer.
Yes. Many Clearfield County homes are built into slopes with raised or split-level entries. An outdoor stair lift can cover exterior steps, and a platform lift may suit someone who uses a wheelchair.
Community HealthChoices can cover a stair glide when it is medically necessary and approved through your managed care organization. You must meet Medicaid long-term care rules and a nursing-facility level of care. Call (800) 757-5042.
Start with the Area Agency on Aging in Clearfield at (814) 765-2696. They assess residents 60 and older for the OPTIONS Program and CHC-related services. OPTIONS has no hard income limit but uses a sliding co-payment.
No, the HISA grant does not cover stair lifts. Veterans with certain severe service-connected disabilities can ask about the SAH and SHA grants, and the county Veteran's Affairs office at (814) 765-2642 can help sort out options.
The PHFA ACCESS Home Modification Program offers a zero-interest deferred loan of $1,000 to $10,000 with no monthly payment, used with a PHFA Keystone loan at purchase. Call (855) 827-3466.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
