Pocatello's older neighborhoods grew up around Union Pacific Railroad service, and many of those houses still have one staircase as the only way between floors. Out in Chubbuck, Inkom, McCammon, Downey, Arimo and Lava Hot Springs, the homes run from ranch-style and split-level houses to townhouses and walk-up apartments.
This page walks through how those homes and the county's terrain affect the kind of stair lift that makes sense, and which local and statewide programs are worth a phone call before you pay out of pocket. It covers all 9 towns in Bannock County, including Fort Hall and Tyhee.
Pocatello's core has more than twenty properties on the National Register of Historic Places, including St. Joseph's Catholic Church, built in 1897, and Trinity Episcopal Church. The houses around them tend to be multi-story or split-level, and the staircase is often the only route up.
In these homes we look closely at the stair shape before anything else. A straight run with no turns can usually take a straight rail lift. Stairs with a landing, a turn or a narrow older layout often need a curved rail built to fit that specific staircase.
Retrofitting an older home is common work. The main questions are how wide the stairs are, what is at the top and bottom, and whether there is room to get on and off the seat safely.
Split-level homes are everywhere in Bannock County, and they bring short flights between each level. Sometimes one lift handles the flight that matters most, such as the one to the bedrooms. Other times two short straight lifts work better than one long curved rail.
Ranch-style homes may have no inside stairs at all, but many still have steps to a basement or up to the front door. Townhouses usually have a straight interior flight, which is often the simplest install.
Walk-up apartments are different. Shared stairways belong to the building, so a renter will need the owner's permission before any lift goes in.
Bannock County covers 1,147 square miles, from the American Falls Reservoir in the northwest corner, where the Portneuf River meets the Snake River, up to Bonneville Peak at 9,271 feet on the eastern border in the Portneuf Range. A lot of homes sit on sloped lots with porch steps or long entry stairs.
That terrain adds outdoor fall risk on top of any indoor staircase. For entry steps, an outdoor-rated stair lift or a vertical platform lift can make the trip from the driveway to the door safer. A platform lift is the choice when someone uses a wheelchair and cannot transfer to a seat.
For many families, that means a parent who wants to stay in the house they know, with stairs that have become hard to manage.
If the person needing the lift is a veteran, check with Bannock County Veteran Services before deciding how to pay. The benefit rules below matter, and some VA programs do not cover stair lifts.
No program listed here names stair lifts as a covered item, so the honest answer is that most help comes from asking the right office the right question. The Idaho Medicaid A&D Waiver and the Idaho Assistive Technology Project loan are the two most likely routes for many families.
Veterans should know that the VA HISA grant specifically excludes stair glides. Larger VA housing grants exist for severe service-connected disabilities, but they do not name stair lifts either, so confirm before you count on them.
For local guidance, Area V AAA is at 214 E. Center in Pocatello, (208) 233-4032. Bannock County Veteran Services is at 624 East Center in Pocatello, (208) 236-7000.
A state Medicaid home and community based services waiver for Idaho residents 65 or older, or with a qualifying disability, who meet Medicaid income and resource limits. It includes environmental accessibility adaptations, but stair lifts are not named, so ask your waiver case manager whether one qualifies.
A VA benefit for medically necessary permanent changes like doorways, bathrooms and entrances, with a lifetime maximum of $6,800 for service-connected disabilities or $2,000 for non-service-connected. It does not cover stair lifts; the VA excludes stair glides by name.
VA housing grants for veterans with qualifying severe service-connected disabilities, with FY2026 caps of up to $126,526 for SAH, $25,350 for SHA, and $50,961 or $9,100 for TRA. The source does not mention stair lifts, so confirm with Bannock County Veteran Services at (208) 236-7000.
A statewide loan of up to $60,000, at 5% APR for most loans and no origination fees, for Idahoans with a disability or their family members, with no income cap. It covers building modifications for accessibility but does not name stair lifts, so confirm with the loan officer at (800) 432-8324.
A Pocatello nonprofit serving people with disabilities in southeastern Idaho, listing assistive technology among its services. Stair lifts are not mentioned, so call (208) 232-2747 to ask about current services and any equipment lending.
A sliding-scale loan or grant for lower-income Pocatello homeowners that funds sidewalk repairs, home emergency repairs and property rehabilitation. Accessibility work is not mentioned, so ask Planning & Development Services at (208) 234-6184 whether mobility modifications qualify.
Older adults
214 E. Center, Pocatello, 83201
Veterans
624 East Center, Pocatello, 83201
Not through the HISA grant, which excludes stair glides by name. The SAH, SHA and TRA grants do not name stair lifts either, so call Bannock County Veteran Services at (208) 236-7000 to talk through your situation.
Possibly. The A&D Waiver covers environmental accessibility adaptations, but the state does not list stair lifts specifically. Ask the assigned waiver case manager whether a lift counts as an approved adaptation.
Yes. The A&D Waiver also accepts people with a qualifying disability diagnosis, and the Idaho Assistive Technology Project loan is open to any Idaho resident with a disability or their family member, with no income cap.
Usually, yes. Split-levels often have short flights, and depending on the layout, one straight lift on the most-used flight or a lift on each flight can work. We measure each staircase before recommending anything.
The Pocatello Renewal Program offers sliding-scale loans and grants to lower-income homeowners for home emergency repairs and other work. It does not mention accessibility, so call (208) 234-6184 to ask whether mobility changes qualify.
Area V AAA at 214 E. Center in Pocatello is the local aging office, reachable at (208) 233-4032. They can point families toward services before you decide on a lift.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
