Safety Tips & Advice

Stairlifts for Seniors: Safety and Peace of Mind

August 1, 2024

Did you know that 85% of injury-related hospitalizations for seniors are caused by falls? Or that 95% of all hip fractures are caused by falls? As we age, muscle weakness, poor vision, and decreased balance make navigating staircases challenging and potentially dangerous.

Installing home stairlifts for seniors can allow them to stay in their homes longer, preventing injury not only for themselves, but their families and caregivers as well.

How do I know if I need a home stairlift?

Over one-third of seniors who experience a fall are admitted to long-term care facilities. While home stairlifts can assist those returning home after an injury, they play a significant role in preventing accidents. How do you know if you or your loved one should consider this home modification? Look for these key indicators to decide whether the time is right for a home stairlift:

• Limited and/or decreasing mobility: Difficulty with walking or general decline in mobility.
• Instability: Balance issues, or the need to use a mobility aid (walker, cane, or wheelchair).
• Weak hips or knees: Considerable weakness or pain in these areas, possibly due to awaiting or recovering from surgery.

Any of these can cause significant struggles with getting up and down stairs, leading to reliance on a spouse, family member, or support worker’s help to do so—creating more opportunities for people to fall! The bottom line is that stairlifts make homes safer for elderly people, who are generally at a greater risk of falling, of being hospitalized after a fall, and of falling again after falling once.  But where do you begin?

Approaching a conversation about stairlifts for seniors

Talking to older adults about new approaches to care and wellness can be a sensitive subject! However, a focus on the fact that stairlifts for seniors can help them to remain at home safely for a longer period of time may contribute to their keeping an open mind about the possibility. Below are some points you can discuss in your conversations.

Stairlifts for seniors in Ontario buy-back program 

The Home Stairlift team does a personal assessment with each potential customer, ensuring they have the information they need to make the choice that works the best for them, their family, and their home. Customers can even test a stairlift out for a week free of charge!

As the only provider of stairlifts for seniors in Ontario that buys back its stairlifts from customers, Home Stairlift offers flexibility and lets seniors keep their options open. The buy-back amount depends on depreciation, of course, but should a customer decide to move or find they no longer need the stairlift, they’ll not only get a percentage back of what they paid, but a visit from the team to:

• Dismantle the stairlift
• Dispose of the stairlift
• Fill in any marks left in hardwood so the area the stairlift occupied

Their stairs will look as good as new.

Funding for home stairlifts

People tend to assume that stairlifts are prohibitively expensive, but that’s not necessarily so, especially with the various funding options available:

• March of Dimes has a program to help make stairlifts and other accessibility renovations significantly more affordable for low-income individuals and families. Home Stairlift can help with the application form.
• Home Stairlift sells pre-owned stairlifts along with new. Buying a pre-owned home stairlift decreases its cost dramatically. 

Government funding and tax credits can also make a Stairlift more affordable. In addition to being tax exempt, because the stairlift is a medical expense, customers can use it to claim the Home Accessibility Tax Credit, the Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit, the Medical Expense Tax Credit, and the Canadian Caregiver Tax Credit. Canadians with disabilities also quality for the Disability Tax Credit. Once approved for this credit, the CRA reassesses the last 10 years of an individual’s tax returns, and the resulting refund may be significant enough to purchase a stairlift.

Also consider that in the long run, a stairlift costs less than long-term care, with the added advantage of letting seniors age in place for longer.

Making the decision on installing a home stairlift

A serious fall can have significant consequences even for young people. For seniors, at the very least, it increases the chance of falling again. A home stairlift allows people to use the stairs which can mean the difference between remaining at home and moving to a long-term care facility where:

• they may be separated from a spouse;
• costs may cause financial hardship;
• loved ones may not visit as frequently.

With Home Stairlifts, their options are available for trial, rental, or purchase use for clients, with a needs assessment, planning, installation and removal (if necessary), done by the team. Home Stairlift has found solutions for clients for as little as $295 per month.  

At Just Like Family Home Care, we are committed to providing seniors and their families with resources, tools, and education to help them navigate the aging journey. As a social enterprise, we’re not just a home care business—we’re proud to align ourselves with other businesses that put people first. Home Stairlift’s buyback program helps people purchase a stairlift knowing that: 1) They have flexibility around it should their situation change 2) Their returned stairlift can be sold at a reduced price to someone who can’t afford a new one. With this knowledge comes powerful peace of mind, and Just Like Family is happy to work with a partner who can provide that to seniors.  

Learn about how Just Like Family Home Care gives seniors the support they need to live safely in the comfort of their own homes. Click here to learn more.