FAIRLEA — According to a survey conducted last year by AARP, older Americans overwhelmingly prefer to “age in place” — remaining in their homes rather than moving to an assisted living facility or joining family members in another community. Nearly three-quarters of survey respondents age 45 and older strongly agreed with the statement, “What I’d really like to do is stay in my current residence for as long as possible.”

Kris Hopkins, who, along with her husband, Archie, owns a new 101 Mobility franchise in Fairlea, says, “There really is a huge need for the products we offer, and that need will grow more and more as the population ages.”

Archie said he agrees.

“Once people know what’s available, we’ll be able to be there for them as they need things like ramps and lifts, even motorized wheelchairs,” he said.

Based in Wilmington, N.C., the 101 Mobility corporation offers such products as stair-lifts, ramp systems, bath equipment, patient lifts and vertical platform lifts, along with a line of automotive mobility products.

One thing that sets 101 Mobility apart, according to Kris Hopkins, is the ability to offer a one-stop shopping opportunity.

“You can go online and find most anything, but who installs it?” she asks. “Who services it if something goes wrong down the line? We go to your home and install every product we offer.”

Archie Hopkins adds, “We will do a free evaluation for someone who, for example, needs a ramp installed. We take the measurements, price the product, then deliver the ramp and install it. It’s kind of a start-to-finish process.”

“This company uses the highest standard of products,” he says. We’re working with the best. There’s lots of fraud in this industry, so it’s important to have the right product.

“Then, it’s up to us to see to it that the product is installed correctly and the customer is happy. The last thing we want is for people to be unhappy with our work.”

The couple said they plan to hire an installer the first of next month, but for now, it’s strictly a family business.

Archie brings nearly 20 years of experience in orthopedic implant sales to his new endeavor, while Kris is a registered nurse. Their three children, ages 6, 11 and 13, often spend after-school hours in the office with Kris while Archie is out seeing customers.

“We spent a year, maybe a year and a half, looking at different franchise businesses,” Archie notes. “The others we checked out were in markets we didn’t know. The health care industry is what we know.”

“We like the structure of 101 Mobility,” Kris adds. “It’s very supportive.”

The couple’s franchise covers a sales and service region stretching from Charleston to the Roanoke, Va., area.

“They asked us, ‘Where do you want to live?’ and then mapped it out ZIP (code) by ZIP,” Archie explains. “The requirements for a franchise region are that it have at least a million people, with a certain percentage over the age of 65, and the region must have at least one VA hospital. We’re fortunate in that our area has two — in Beckley and Salem, Va. It’s a great opportunity to help veterans.”

The question “Where do you want to live?” posed by the 101 Mobility franchise application elicited what some view as an odd response, as the Hopkins family chose to relocate to Greenbrier County from their home in Sarasota, Fla.

“I’ve been coming here to visit since I was a kid,” Archie says. “We bought some property in Frankford and decided it was a great place to raise kids. We love the people here, and the changing seasons are beautiful. We just felt like this was home.”

“I have some friends in Florida who were pretty shocked,” Kris says. “They asked me, ‘You’re going to move where?’ But when they come to visit us here, they say, ‘Now I get it.’ They recognize how special this area is.”

To contact 101 Mobility, phone 888-645-0991 or 304-645-0991, fax 304-645-0992, go to The Virginias Access & Mobility Company’s website at Virginias.101Mobility.com or drop by the Fairlea office, at the corner of Fair St. and U.S. Route 219, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

— E-mail: talvey@register-herald.com