Business Spotlight: Access Builders Inc.

Contractor Chris Oberhansly has a unique item in his toolbox: a wheelchair.

A 1995 injury left Oberhansly a quadriplegic confined to a motorized wheelchair, but it certainly didn't throw his career off course.

Oberhansly was working toward a construction management degree at Missouri State University when he was injured on a construction site. He used the lasting effects of the injury to form Access Builders Inc., a construction firm catering to the disabled and aging.

"In going through the process of getting back to a regular mode of life, I realized I was not going to be able to stay in my home," Oberhansly recalls. "I found that accessible housing was limited, and there weren't enough people in this area with the knowledge to make modifications."

Not the type to sit around and let someone take care of him, Oberhansly let his personal drive take over.

"I took my knowledge and experience in construction and my new point of view and developed a niche business that can help other people," he says.

But first, he helped himself. Struggling to get around in a rental not suited for a quadriplegic, Oberhansly drew up plans for - and later built - his personal residence to accommodate his needs.

Access Builders was born. The company now employs 10, and crews are currently remodeling 24 rooms at the Oasis Hotel & Convention Center on North Glenstone Avenue.

About 50 percent of Access Builders' business is in accessible modifications and remodeling. The most common projects are creating accessible entries, door widenings and bathrooms with roll-in showers or lifts.

"I look at the house from the outside in," Oberhansly says about his approach to a project. "Then I move inside to look at their daily activities."

He also considers the needs of those caring for the disabled or elderly.

"Lifts are as much to protect caregivers, to keep them from having to risk injury from lifting a disabled person," Oberhansly notes.

Oberhansly says he has not seen much of a slowdown in the present economy, partly because of growth in the elderly segment. According to AARP, many seniors wish to remain in their homes rather than move to assisted living facilities or nursing homes. Oberhansly and one of his foremen, Chris Monroe, are certified aging-in-place specialists. CAPS remodelers are trained in a program offered through the National Association of Home Builders in the needs of older adults - especially in barrier-free environments.

According to Oberhansly, sometimes all a person needs is a simple grab bar to help them up a small flight of steps or to assist someone in getting on and off a scooter to a toilet.

His most challenging project was providing access through a multilevel home, from garage to bedroom and bath in a way that did not look institutional. However, his most rewarding projects - which keep him going each day - are much simpler.

"A couple of weeks ago, an older lady called me," he says, beginning to tell a story. "She needed a grab bar to help her get from her garage into her house. We put it in and asked her to come and test it. She had fallen a couple of weeks before and told us it took her five hours before she could pull and drag herself back to a standing position. She used the bar and walked up and down the steps and she turned around to us with tears in her eyes.

"There's probably more money to be made in a different field, but you can't replace that feeling," Oberhansly says. "The satisfaction (comes) when you open up their lives and they feel like they can continue on."[[In-content Ad]]