From Platteville and Lancaster to Boscobel, Cassville and Patch Grove, Grant County is spread across 21 towns in the hills of southwest Wisconsin. Much of the housing is older farmhouses and small-town homes, and a lot of them are two stories with the bedrooms and only full bath upstairs.
That layout works fine until the stairs start to feel like a climb every night. A stair lift lets someone keep living in the house they know, on the land they know, without giving up the second floor. This page covers what kinds of lifts fit local homes and where Grant County families can look for help paying.
Most homes here are single-family or detached houses, and many of the older farmhouses have one long interior staircase. If that staircase runs straight from bottom to top with no turns, a straight stair lift is usually the simplest fit and the quickest install.
Older homes are not always that tidy. Stairs with a landing, a turn partway up, or narrow winders near the top call for a curved lift, which uses a rail built to follow that specific staircase.
Split-level homes bring their own puzzle. They often have short flights between several levels, so we look at which floors the person actually needs to reach before recommending one lift or more than one.
Grant County sits in Wisconsin's Driftless Area, the part of the state that glaciers skipped. That means rolling hills and steep river valleys, and plenty of houses built into a slope with a set of steps up to the front or back door.
When the hard part is getting into the house, an outdoor stair lift built for weather can handle exterior steps. For someone who uses a wheelchair, a platform lift may make more sense than a seat, since the person can stay in the chair.
The county covers 1,183 square miles, and 77.2% of residents lived in rural areas as of 2020. With neighbors and services far apart, being able to get around safely inside your own home matters a great deal.
As of the 2020 census, 69.6% of occupied homes in the county were owner-occupied. If you own the home, you decide on the lift and where it goes.
Grant County also has duplexes and walk-up apartments, especially in the larger towns. Renters should talk with the landlord before anything is installed, since a stair lift attaches to the stairs and the owner has to agree to it.
It is worth knowing up front that the VA HISA grant specifically excludes stair glides and porch lifts, so it will not pay for a stair lift.
The VA SAH and SHA grants are larger, but their descriptions talk about ramps and widening doorways and do not name stair lifts. The county Veterans Service Officer at 111 S. Jefferson St. in Lancaster, (608) 723-2756, can walk through what a specific veteran may qualify for.
Two Wisconsin Medicaid waivers, IRIS and Family Care, both name stair lifts as a home modification they can cover. Both require the person to meet a nursing-facility level of care, and IRIS has a 2026 income limit of $2,982 a month for a single person.
The front door for both is the Grant County ADRC at 8820 Hwy 35 South in Lancaster, (608) 723-6113. The ADRC does the functional assessment and can also explain other statewide options such as the Community Options Program (COP), WisLoan and the WHEDA Home Improvement Loan Program (HILP).
For homeowners with very low incomes, the USDA Section 504 program offers repair loans and, for those 62 and older, grants. Its list of accessibility repairs does not name stair lifts, so ask before counting on it. Each program is summarized below.
A local resource and referral center for residents 60 and older, adults 18 and older with disabilities, and their caregivers. Stair lift help is not listed on its own, but it is the place to start for IRIS and Family Care; call (608) 723-6113.
A self-directed Medicaid waiver for people 65 and older, or 18 to 64 with a disability, who need nursing-facility level care, and its covered home modifications explicitly include stair lifts. Enroll through the ADRC, or call (888) 515-4747.
A managed-care Medicaid long-term-care program that names stair lifts as an example of covered home modifications, approved case by case. Call the ADRC at (608) 723-6113 to begin.
Loans up to $40,000 at 1% and grants up to $10,000 for very-low-income homeowners 62 and older in eligible rural areas, which cover most of Grant County. Ramps and grab bars are listed, but stair lifts are not mentioned.
A VA home-modification grant with a lifetime maximum of $6,800 or $2,000 depending on disability status. It does not cover stair lifts, since stair glides are specifically excluded.
A grant of up to $126,526 for veterans with certain serious service-connected disabilities who own or will own the home. Stair lifts are not mentioned in its description of covered changes.
A grant of up to $25,350 for veterans with qualifying disabilities such as loss of use of both hands. The source describes ramps and doorway widening and does not mention stair lifts.
Home repair help for income-eligible homeowners in a five-county area that includes Grant County, described as emergency repairs, appliance replacement and lead paint removal. Stair lifts are not mentioned, so call (608) 935-2326 to ask.
Older adults
8820 Hwy 35 South, Lancaster, 53813
Veterans
111 S. Jefferson St., Lancaster, 53813
It can through IRIS or Family Care, both of which name stair lifts as a covered home modification. The person must meet a nursing-facility level of care and the program's financial rules. Start with the Grant County ADRC at (608) 723-6113.
Yes. The ADRC serves adults 18 and older with physical, developmental or intellectual disabilities, and IRIS and Family Care are open to adults 18 and older with a disability who meet the level-of-care requirement.
The HISA grant does not, because it excludes stair glides. The SAH and SHA grants do not name stair lifts either. Call the Veterans Service Officer in Lancaster at (608) 723-2756 to review your situation.
Yes. Stairs with a turn or landing usually need a curved stair lift, which uses a rail made to follow that staircase.
Many homes on Grant County's hills have exterior steps. An outdoor stair lift can handle those, and a platform lift is an option for someone who needs to stay in a wheelchair.
The Grant County ADRC is at 8820 Hwy 35 South, Lancaster, WI 53813. The phone number is (608) 723-6113.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
