At first glance, motorists traveling on Third near Northeast Greenwood Avenue might see the vans in front of 1045 N.E. Third St. and think the business is a car dealership.

Or if they spot the scooters sometimes lined up in front, they might think it’s a scooter store.

They would be right on both counts.

Advanced Mobility of Bend sells vans converted for wheelchair access and several models of electric scooters, along with stair lifts, adjustable beds, walk-in bathtubs, wheelchairs, canes, walkers and other supplies to make homes and vehicles more accessible.

But what the business really offers is service, said Dan Cummins, 43, and Lisa Cummins, 40, who own and run the business, along with Dan’s father, Dewey.

“When you come in here, you get service,” Dan Cummins said. “I will come to your house, and I can give them an honest quote.”

Advanced Mobility goes beyond equipment sales, repair and rentals. It also provides the remodeling work needed to accommodate accessibility features.

Dan Cummins is a licensed general contractor and licensed mechanical elevator contractor, which allows him to install stair lifts.

“We do overhead track systems that will take you from your bed to the bathroom and the shower,” he said.

Because it sells vans, Advanced Mobility also holds a vehicle dealer license. Being in the health care industry, the couple also had to become accredited by Medicare and learn Veterans Affairs rules.

And as baby boomers reach retirement age, it’s an industry poised for growth.

“It’s a service that is needed, that is not going away,” Dan Cummins said. “Business is increasing because of the demographics.”

The service at Advanced Mobility also includes the knowledge gained by Dan and Lisa Cummins.

If someone needs hand controls on a vehicle, Dan Cummins can tell them the name of the person to see at St. Charles Bend for the requirements.

He and his wife also get to know the customers, referring to them by name when they call. Many of them become repeat clients.

“What we didn’t think about in this industry, is they keep coming back,” Dan Cummins said. “First they come in for a cane or a walker. Then it’s a lift, or a (wheelchair) or to remodel a bathroom.”

Both graduated from the University of Oregon. Before entering the medical equipment and supply industry, Dan Cummins worked as a contractor, building bridges, roadways and other large projects.

But work took him away from home for long periods, he said, and he could not see himself continuing in the industry after age 50.

The idea to go into the business stemmed from visits to his father’s welding shop, Triangle T Welding, in Bend, where Dan Cummins saw his father installing vehicle lifts.

In 2003, the family opened the store on Third Street. They bought and renovated a building previously occupied by Bend Cleaners, a laundry and dry cleaner damaged in a fire in the late 1990s, according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

A few years ago, they said, servicing equipment made up about 50 percent of the business, but that’s tapered off, possibly as customers hit by the economic downturn defer maintenance.

Advanced Mobility has customers all over the region, out to Burns and John Day, Dan Cummins said — “basically the east side of the mountains.”

But some clients still express surprise when they find the business, even though it has operated for about eight years near one of Bend’s major intersections.

“Even people who’ve lived in Bend for a long time don’t know we are here,” Dan Cummins said, “until they need us.”

Q: What prompted you to start the business?

A: Dan Cummins: It was the idea that I didn’t want to be 50 years old and wearing nail bags and pouring concrete. Why don’t we go into business? Why don’t we open a store?

Lisa Cummins: The basic idea came from his dad and the welding shop. We thought we were just going to do the lifts and cars. But it went beyond that. It just evolved.

I knew nothing about the medical industry. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it. Eventually we became the experts.

Q: What surprised you about the medical equipment and supply business?

A: When (the customers) start with something, and (then) they need something else. It’s the progression, from wheelchair to patient lift to (adjustable) bed.

Q: Some of your repeat customers eventually die?

A: Lisa Cummins: We lose our customers. It’s heartbreaking, too. (It makes us) very thankful for our health.

Dan Cummins: We have a lot of empathy.

Lisa Cummins: We’ve also learned to treat everyone the same (to take time with customers, speak to the person needing the equipment and find out what he or she needs). Dan’s very good about that.

The basics

What: Advanced Mobility of Bend

Where: 1045 N.E. Third St., Bend

Employees: Three

Phone: 541-382-6016

Website: www.advancedmobilityofbend.com