Montgomery County runs from the rowhouse streets of Cheltenham to the wooded hills and farmland along the Perkiomen Creek. In between sit 104 towns, including river boroughs like Norristown and Pottstown, rail towns like Lansdale, and suburbs such as Lower Merion, Abington, Upper Dublin and Horsham.
A lot of that housing is old and vertical. Victorian-era rowhouses and early 20th-century twins often put the only full bathroom and every bedroom upstairs, at the top of a steep, narrow staircase. This page walks through what that means for a stair lift and where local families can look for help paying for one.
Norristown, the county seat with about 35,748 residents, along with Pottstown and Lansdale, holds many pre-war two- and three-story homes. The stairs in these houses tend to be steep and narrow, sometimes with a turn or landing partway up.
A straight stair lift works well when the run goes top to bottom with no turns. Where the staircase bends or splits at a landing, a curved rail is built to follow the exact path of the stairs. We measure the width, the pitch and any turns before recommending either one, because narrow older stairs leave less room for the chair and the person walking past it.
Further out, in places like Upper Moreland, Whitpain, Towamencin and Lower Providence, you see more single-family homes, townhouses and split-level homes. A split-level often has several short flights instead of one long one.
Short flights can sometimes be handled with separate straight lifts, or with one curved rail that links them. In a townhouse, the main question is usually whether the stair is open on one side or enclosed by walls, since that affects where the rail mounts and how much clearance is left.
The county covers about 487 square miles, and the Schuylkill River runs through it. Older boroughs such as Norristown and Pottstown sit on sloping ground, so many homes have front steps or a back stair down to the yard in addition to the stairs inside.
For those outside steps, an outdoor stair lift built for weather exposure is one option. Where a wheelchair user needs to get up a short rise to an entrance, a platform lift may make more sense than a seat. We look at both the inside and outside stairs during a visit so nothing gets missed.
About 18.4% of county residents are 65 or older, and 72.7% of households own their homes. Many of those owners plan to stay put, which means adapting the house they already have rather than moving.
That matters because some VA housing grants can help with accessibility work, while one common VA benefit does not cover stair lifts at all, as explained below.
Start with the Montgomery County Office of Aging Services at (610) 278-3601, located at the Human Services Center, P.O. Box 311, Norristown 19404. For residents 60 and older, it is the intake point for the OPTIONS Program and the Caregiver Support Program, both of which can pay toward home modifications.
People 21 or older with a physical disability who qualify for Medical Assistance and a nursing-facility level of care may get a stair lift through the Community HealthChoices waiver. Veterans should call the Montgomery County Office of Veteran Services at (610) 213-4022 to ask about the SAH and SHA grants. Each program is summarized in the list below.
A Medicaid home and community-based waiver for adults 21 or older with a physical disability who meet a nursing-facility level of care; Environmental Adaptations can fund stair lifts as part of an approved service plan through your managed care organization. Call (866) 550-4355.
Lottery-funded in-home services for Pennsylvania residents 60 or older, with home modifications listed as a supplemental service and no income requirement, though a sliding-scale co-payment may apply. Call (717) 783-1550 or apply through the county aging office.
The local access point for residents 60 and older, which assesses needs and enrolls people in OPTIONS and the Caregiver Support Program; its own page does not name stair lifts or home modifications directly. Call (610) 278-3601.
Reimburses a primary caregiver up to $600 per month for caregiving costs, plus a lifetime maximum of $5,000 for home modifications or assistive devices such as a stair glide, on an income-based sliding scale. Apply through the county aging office at (610) 278-3601.
A federal grant of up to $126,526 for veterans with certain qualifying service-connected disabilities who own or will own the home; the source does not name stair lifts, but one may be funded as part of an approved adaptation plan. Call (800) 827-1000.
A federal grant of up to $25,350 for veterans with certain qualifying service-connected disabilities; stair lifts are not named, but one may be included in an approved home adaptation plan. Call (800) 827-1000.
A lifetime benefit of $6,800 or $2,000 for permanent structural changes like ramps and roll-in showers; it specifically excludes stair glides, so it will not pay for a stair lift. Call (800) 827-1000 about SAH or SHA instead.
A center for independent living serving Montgomery County that does not fund stair lifts directly but helps people with disabilities navigate Medicaid waivers and aging programs that pay for home modifications. Call (215) 634-2000.
Occupational-therapist guided accessibility adaptations and critical repairs for income-qualified owners who have lived in their home at least one year, with a related Whole Home Repair track of up to $50k per home; stair lifts are not named. Call (610) 278-7710.
Older adults
Human Services Center P.O. Box 311, Norristown, 19404
Veterans
P.O. Box 311, Norristown, 19404
Often, yes, but it depends on the width and pitch of the stairs and whether there is a turn. Steep, narrow pre-war staircases are common in these boroughs, so we measure carefully and may recommend a curved rail if the stairs bend at a landing.
The OPTIONS Program and the county aging office serve people 60 and older, but the Community HealthChoices waiver covers adults 21 or older with a physical disability who meet its Medicaid and level-of-care rules. Liberty Resources at (215) 634-2000 can also help people with disabilities find funding.
The Pennsylvania Caregiver Support Program offers a lifetime maximum of $5,000 for home modifications or assistive devices, and a stair glide qualifies. The share reimbursed depends on the care receiver's income. Apply through the county aging office at (610) 278-3601.
Not through HISA, which excludes stair glides. The SAH and SHA grants may include a stair lift when it is part of an approved home adaptation plan for a veteran with a qualifying service-connected disability. Call (800) 827-1000 or the Montgomery County Office of Veteran Services at (610) 213-4022.
No. OPTIONS has no income requirement, but depending on income you may owe a sliding-scale co-payment, and other insurance benefits are used first.
Outdoor stair lifts are built for exterior steps, and a platform lift can work for a wheelchair user at an entrance. We look at outside steps along with the inside stairs when we visit.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
