My mom needs to travel up and down 3 flights of steps to get from her house to the sidewalk. It is too steep for a ramp. She is 91 and it's becoming very difficult and dangerous for her. There is no other way to get to the street level.
Most agencies have a 4 hour minimum requirement to send a care giver out, so you'd be paying north of $100 to have your mother travel up and down 3 flights of stairs. At 91, she likely needs more help than just getting up and down the stairs anyway, so maybe look into hiring a care giver for the minimum time period as often as necessary. Good luck!
Have you called your local Area Agency on Aging to ask this question? They may know of a transport company.
Your post says down 3 flights from her house. I visualizing the stairs as going straight down a hill, but the 3 flights makes me wonder if stairs might be in a switchback stairwell. She owns this house and the stairs? Is the stairway covered? Have you considered getting an stair lift like Acorn installed?
Do you have an evacuation or stair transport chair for her? Have you asked the local EMT or fire department? Is there a college with a school of nursing in your area? Nursing students or even a couple of football players may be able to come by and roll/carry an evacuation chair up/down the stairs.
THanks you have given me some great ideas. Mom owns the house. It is a semi detached home. The stairs are outside. We have Acorn inside the house. Outside stair lifts are very expensive and Mom doesn't leave the house very often. Mon walks with a walker, but has a wheelchair. Never thought of a transport chair. I left a message with the local fire station, but haven't heard back. I will call again. Thanks so much.
Does she own the house? You can install a ramp, and most places it does not have to meet normal code requirements. If an apartment building, talk to management, they can sometimes get tax credits to help cover
THanks for answering. Mom has a daily caregiver for 4 hours. Many of us assist her down the stairs. So that's not the issue. She has severe arthritis in her knees, so it's physically difficult for her to get down and up stairs. Thanks.
Good luck!
Your post says down 3 flights from her house. I visualizing the stairs as going straight down a hill, but the 3 flights makes me wonder if stairs might be in a switchback stairwell. She owns this house and the stairs? Is the stairway covered? Have you considered getting an stair lift like Acorn installed?
Do you have an evacuation or stair transport chair for her? Have you asked the local EMT or fire department? Is there a college with a school of nursing in your area? Nursing students or even a couple of football players may be able to come by and roll/carry an evacuation chair up/down the stairs.
Mon walks with a walker, but has a wheelchair. Never thought of a transport chair.
I left a message with the local fire station, but haven't heard back. I will call again.
Thanks so much.
She has severe arthritis in her knees, so it's physically difficult for her to get down and up stairs.
Thanks.