Hernando County runs from the Gulf of Mexico at Hernando Beach, across the Brooksville Ridge, to forested land out past Ridge Manor and Nobleton. Within those 589 square miles sit 17 towns and communities, from the platted streets of Spring Hill to the county seat in Brooksville and small places like Masaryktown and Wiscon.
A lot of homes here are single-story, so a stair lift is not always the answer. When a house does have stairs, though, we can look at the layout, measure the steps and tell you plainly which kind of lift fits and which programs might help with the cost.
Spring Hill holds most of the county's people, with 113,568 residents at the 2020 census. It grew as a platted subdivision and has many deed-restricted and age-restricted (55+) neighborhoods, mostly single-story homes.
Inside a one-level house you may never need a lift. The stairs that cause trouble are often the ones outside: a few steps up to the front door or down to a lanai. An outdoor stair lift is built for that kind of run, and in a deed-restricted neighborhood it is worth checking the community rules before anything goes on the exterior.
Across the county you will find single-family homes, detached houses, townhouses, walk-up apartments and split-level homes. A townhouse with one straight flight is usually the simplest job, since a straight stair lift rides a rail bolted to the treads, not the wall.
Split-level homes are different. They often have short flights broken by landings, and a staircase that turns needs a curved rail made to its exact shape. Where a wheelchair user has to get up the steps, a platform lift may be the better fit, so we measure first and recommend second.
About 26.8 percent of the county's 172,853 residents are 65 or older, and 79.9 percent of households own their homes. Owners can usually approve an installation on their own, while renters in walk-up apartments need the landlord's permission first.
The Brooksville VA Clinic serves the area, and Hernando County Veteran Services is also in Brooksville if you want help sorting out benefits.
No single program here promises to pay for a stair lift, so it helps to know which doors to knock on. Florida's Medicaid long-term care program includes home accessibility adaptations, decided case by case by the plan's care manager.
The VA's HISA grant does not cover stair lifts, but the county veterans office can walk through what VA benefits do offer. Statewide, it is also worth asking about the FAAST New Horizon Loan Program and the Florida Homestead + Senior Additional Homestead Exemption. Details on each program are listed below.
Florida Medicaid's statewide long-term care program, run by AHCA, lists home accessibility adaptation as a required plan service but does not name stair lifts, so coverage is decided case by case by your plan's care manager. It is open to people 65+ or 18+ with a qualifying disability who meet Medicaid financial rules and a CARES nursing-facility level of care assessment.
This national VA benefit pays for medically necessary home improvements for veterans with service-connected or non-service-connected disabilities. The VA excludes stair glides (stair lifts) as removable equipment, so HISA will not cover one; Hernando County Veteran Services at (352) 754-4033 can explain other options.
The area agency on aging for a 16-county service area that includes Hernando gives information, referrals and SMMC long-term care options counseling; it does not directly fund home modifications or mention stair lifts. Call (800) 262-2243 to be pointed toward SMMC LTC and other funded services.
Older adults
100 S.W. 75th St., Ste. 301, Gainesville, 32607
Veterans
621 W. Jefferson St., Brooksville, 34601
Often not inside the house. If there are steps at the entry or to a back patio, an outdoor stair lift can handle them, and split-level homes elsewhere in the county usually need a curved lift.
Yes, possibly. The SMMC Long-Term Care Program accepts adults 18 and older with a qualifying disability who meet Florida Medicaid financial rules and the CARES level of care assessment.
Not through the HISA grant, which specifically excludes stair glides. Call Hernando County Veteran Services at (352) 754-4033, 621 W. Jefferson St. in Brooksville, to go over other VA benefits.
Elder Options, the area agency on aging for PSA 3, provides options counseling for SMMC LTC. Their line is (800) 262-2243, and the office at (352) 378-6649 is in Gainesville.
A straight lift can often be installed and later removed, but you will need the landlord's written approval first. We are glad to talk with them about how it attaches.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
