Around Buffalo Lake, Puckaway Lake and the Mecan River, a lot of Marquette County homes started out as summer cottages. Today many of them, along with older farmhouses near Montello, Westfield, Oxford and Neshkoro, are being turned into year-round or retirement homes. That usually means one interior staircase to a second floor or a walkout lower level that someone now has to climb every day.
This page walks through what those homes mean for a stair lift, from Endeavor and Briggsville to Packwaukee. It also covers the programs that can help pay, including Family Care and IRIS, and who to call in the county to get started.
The 2020 Census found that 30.6% of housing units in Marquette County sat vacant, mostly seasonal cabins and lake cottages that empty out after the recreation season. As more of those places become permanent homes, the staircase that was fine for a summer weekend becomes the main obstacle to staying put.
Most of these homes have a single straight run of stairs. That is good news, because a straight stair lift is the simplest type to fit. The rail mounts to the stair treads, not the wall, so older plaster or paneled walls in a farmhouse are usually not a problem.
Single-family and ranch-style homes are common here, and many ranch homes have stairs down to a basement or walkout lower level. If laundry or a bedroom is down there, a straight lift on the basement stairs often solves it.
Split-level homes are different. They have several short flights, and each one may need its own lift, or a curved rail if the flights connect around a landing. A curved lift is built to fit your exact stairs, so it takes longer to make than a straight one.
Walk-up apartments and low-rise buildings can have shared stairs. In those cases the building owner has to agree to an installation before anything goes in.
The county covers 464 square miles of flat to gently rolling land, with Mt. Shaw as its high point. Even on a flat lot, homes on the lakes and the Mecan River often have deck stairs or exterior steps down toward the water. An outdoor stair lift is built to handle weather and can serve steps like these.
For a wheelchair user, a platform lift may make more sense than a seat on a rail. With roughly 35 people per square mile and the whole county classified as rural, ask any installer how far they travel for service calls before you buy.
The USDA calls Marquette County a high-recreation retirement destination, and the 2020 Census put the median age at 50.2. Owner-occupied units make up 81.3% of occupied housing, so most people asking about a stair lift own the home and can decide on their own to install one.
If that includes someone in your family, the VA grants listed below are worth a call, with one important limit noted on HISA.
The strongest route is Medicaid long-term care. Wisconsin Family Care names stair lifts as a covered home modification, and IRIS covers home modifications through a self-directed budget. Both start with a screening through the ADRC of Marquette County.
For homeowners who do not qualify for Medicaid, the USDA Section 504 program offers low-interest repair loans and grants for very-low-income rural homeowners, though the source does not name stair lifts. Veterans should know the VA HISA grant specifically excludes stair glides.
Wisconsin also runs the Community Options Program (COP), WisLoan (WisTech Alternative Loan Program) and the WHEDA Home Improvement Loan Program (HILP) statewide. The ADRC can tell you which of these fits your situation.
Medicaid managed care for adults 18+ who need a nursing-home level of care; stair lifts are named as a covered home modification, approved item by item in the care plan by Lakeland Care, Inc. Start with the ADRC of Marquette County at (855) 440-2372.
A self-directed Medicaid option for adults 18+ who need nursing-facility level of care; home modifications are covered from your individual budget, and anything over $1,000 needs an independent accessibility assessment first. Call the IRIS Call Center at (888) 515-4747.
The county's information and screening office for older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers, with no income limit for information. It does not fund stair lifts directly but is the doorway into Family Care and IRIS; call (855) 440-2372.
An equipment loan program for county residents who need medical or mobility equipment; stair lifts are not mentioned in the source. Call (608) 297-3135 to ask what is available.
Loans up to $40,000 at 1% over 20 years, and grants up to $10,000 for homeowners 62+ who cannot repay a loan, for very-low-income owners in eligible rural areas; stair lifts are not specifically listed. Call (715) 345-7600.
A lifetime grant of $6,800 or $2,000 for medically needed home changes for qualifying veterans, but stair glides are specifically excluded. The Marquette County Veterans Service Office at (608) 297-3182 can help with other options.
Up to $126,526 for FY2026 for veterans with certain severe service-connected disabilities, usable across up to 6 projects; stair lifts are not named among covered items. Call (608) 297-3182 to ask about eligibility.
Up to $25,350 for FY2026 for veterans with qualifying disabilities such as loss of use of both hands or severe burns; stair lifts are not named on the official page. Call (608) 297-3182.
A referral and advocacy office for veterans, surviving spouses and dependents in the county, not a direct funder. Reach it in Montello at (608) 297-3182.
Older adults
480 Underwood Ave., Suite 100, Montello, 53949
Veterans
480 Underwood Ave, Montello, 53949
It can. Wisconsin Family Care lists stair lifts among covered home modifications, approved through your care plan by Lakeland Care, Inc. You need to be Medicaid-eligible, 18 or older and screened as needing a nursing-home level of care. Call the ADRC at (855) 440-2372 to begin.
Family Care works through a managed care team that approves each item. IRIS lets you direct your own budget, and any modification over $1,000 needs an independent accessibility assessment first. Both are arranged through the ADRC of Marquette County.
No. The HISA grant specifically excludes stair glides. A veteran can still ask the Marquette County Veterans Service Office at (608) 297-3182 about the SAH and SHA grants or other benefits.
Many converted cottages and farmhouses here have one straight interior staircase, which is the easiest kind to fit. Exterior steps toward the lake can use an outdoor model built for weather.
The USDA Section 504 program offers grants up to $10,000 to very-low-income homeowners 62 and older who cannot repay a loan. The grant must be repaid if you sell within 3 years, and stair lifts are not specifically named, so call (715) 345-7600 to ask.
Start with the Marquette County ADRC in Montello at (608) 297-3124 or (855) 440-2372. They handle screening for Family Care and IRIS and can point you to statewide programs like COP, WisLoan and WHEDA HILP.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
