1. Stair Lifts
For people with mobility issues, a stair lift can mean the difference between staying home and needing to move to a care facility. Basically a chair attached to a rail running along the edge of the stairs, this handy device can carry you up and down as needed. It is often plugged into an outlet, but may have battery back-up so that it still works even in a power outage.
If there is medical need, health insurance will often pay a portion of the cost. There are interior and exterior versions – the outdoor stair lifts are meant for porch steps and are waterproof. Stair lifts are a bit different from wheelchair lifts, which are more like a mini-elevator with a platform that holds one person in a wheelchair.