Wells County is mostly farm country in northeast Indiana, with Bluffton as the county seat and smaller towns like Ossian, Zanesville, Liberty Center, Tocsin and Uniondale spread across nine townships. Older multi-story houses sit in Bluffton's historic core and in the outlying towns, while newer single-story homes have gone up on the farmland around them.
That mix matters when a parent starts struggling with the stairs. A two-story house near downtown Bluffton calls for a different lift than a split-level outside Ossian, and a ranch-style home may only need help at the basement or the porch steps. This page walks through what fits where and which local and state programs are worth a phone call.
The older multi-story homes in Bluffton and the smaller towns usually have one main staircase between floors. When that staircase runs straight from bottom to top, a straight stair lift is often the simplest and quickest install. The rail mounts to the stair treads, not the wall, so plaster and old trim stay as they are.
Some older homes have a landing, a turn or a narrow winding section near the top. Those staircases need a curved lift with a rail built to the shape of the stairs. We measure each step and turn during a home visit before anything is ordered.
Split-level homes bring short runs of stairs between levels. Depending on which levels a person uses every day, one short straight lift may solve the problem, or more than one may be needed.
A ranch-style home on the county's farmland may keep daily living on one floor. The trouble spots tend to be the basement stairs, where the laundry or the furnace is, and the steps up to the front or back door.
Outdoor stair lifts are built to handle Indiana weather on porch and deck steps. For someone who uses a wheelchair, a platform lift can be the better answer at an entry, since the person stays in the chair while it rises. Walk-up apartments are a separate case, because shared stairways usually need the building owner's approval first.
About 18.4% of Wells County residents are 65 or older, and 63.3% of people live in rural areas rather than in Bluffton. For many families, a parent lives out on a farm property while the adult children live in town or farther away, and the stairs become the reason a move gets discussed.
If your parent served, the county's Veterans' Service Office in Bluffton can help sort out which VA benefits apply. Wells County is also part of the Fort Wayne metro area, so regional medical and home-modification providers are within reach.
None of the programs below names stair lifts outright, and one VA grant specifically excludes them. Several do list home modifications or environmental modifications as covered services, so it is worth asking a case manager directly whether a lift can be included.
For most older residents, the first call is Aging & In-Home Services of Northeast Indiana at (260) 745-1200, at 8101 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Fort Wayne. That agency is the intake point for the CHOICE program and Medicaid waiver services in Wells County.
Veterans should start with the Wells County Veterans' Service Office at 223 W Washington St Suite #102 in Bluffton, phone (260) 824-6403. The office helps with VA grant applications at no charge.
Medicaid home and community services for people 60 and older (PathWays) or under 60 with a disability (Health & Wellness) who meet nursing-facility level of care. Home modifications and home modification assessments are covered service categories, but stair lifts are not named, so ask your case manager at (260) 745-1200.
A state-funded, non-Medicaid program for people 60 and older or people with disabilities who need help with daily activities; there is no income limit, but a sliding cost share applies above the asset threshold. It lists environmental modification as a covered service without naming stair lifts; call (800) 986-3505.
The Area Agency on Aging for Wells County and the local entry point for CHOICE and Medicaid waiver services and case management, not a direct funder. Its listing does not mention stair lifts; call (260) 745-1200 to start an intake.
Repair loans up to $40,000 at 1% interest for up to 20 years, and grants up to $10,000 for very-low-income homeowners age 62 and older who cannot repay a loan. Stair lifts and accessibility work are not specifically mentioned; the program covers general repairs, modernization and removing health and safety hazards.
A VA grant of up to $6,800 for a service-connected disability or $2,000 for other non-service-connected disabilities, for permanent changes such as ramps and roll-in showers. It does not cover stair lifts, which the VA lists as excluded removable equipment; the Veterans' Service Office at (260) 824-6403 can help with applications.
Larger VA grants for homeowners with certain severe service-connected disabilities, up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA in FY2026, used to build, buy or remodel for accessibility. Stair lifts are not specifically named; call (260) 824-6403 for help applying.
A local nonprofit offering homemaker help, public transportation, a Friendly Caller check-in and assistance to the homebound for residents 60 and older and people with disabilities. It does not list stair lifts or home modifications; call (260) 824-1070 to ask what in-home help is available now.
A county office in Bluffton that helps veterans and their families apply for VA benefits, including HISA, SAH and SHA grants, at no cost. It is not a funding source itself and does not list a stair lift grant of its own; call (260) 824-6403.
Older adults
8101 W. Jefferson Blvd., Fort Wayne, 46804
Veterans
223 W Washington St Suite #102, Bluffton, 46714
The HISA grant will not, because the VA excludes stair glides from it. The SAH and SHA grants cover accessibility remodeling but do not name stair lifts, so ask the Wells County Veterans' Service Office at (260) 824-6403 whether a lift could fit within a larger project.
Yes, possibly. The Health & Wellness Waiver covers people under 60 with a disability who meet nursing-facility level of care, and the CHOICE program serves people with disabilities of any age. Start with Aging & In-Home Services of Northeast Indiana at (260) 745-1200.
No. CHOICE has no income limit, but a sliding cost share applies based on countable assets, with an asset limit of $250,000 and a $20,000 exclusion.
Usually, yes. Staircases with a landing or a turn take a curved lift with a custom rail, and we measure the stairs during a home visit to see what fits.
Call Aging & In-Home Services of Northeast Indiana at (260) 745-1200; it serves Wells County from Fort Wayne and handles intake for CHOICE and waiver services. The Wells County Council on Aging at (260) 824-1070 also offers help to the homebound and public transportation.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
