Why This Army Veteran and Cancer Survivor Decided to Invest in TruBlue Total House Care

Three years ago, Obie Pilkington was battling cancer while on active duty in the Army. And when the COVID-19 pandemic hit one year later in 2020, Pilkington saw first-hand many of the ongoing issues within the U.S. healthcare system, particularly for seniors and military veterans.

“The experience of going through chemotherapy taught me many things, one of which was how seniors and veterans were being treated poorly in the healthcare system,” said Pilkington. “I met a lot of seniors who were also getting chemo, and many of them were alone or needed support, and I knew there had to be a better way. I also watched my mother-in-law suffer from Lewy Body dementia, and her health deteriorated very quickly. I realized health care and home care was where a lot of the problems are for seniors in this country, and I wanted to do something to help.” 

Around the same time, Pilkington was coming to the end of a 20-year career in the military, and was ready to set his own hours and become his own boss. “I was tired of having to listen to anybody else — that is really what set me down the path of business ownership,” he said.

When Pilkington discovered TruBlue Total House Care, the franchise that provides subscription-based home maintenance and handyman services for seniors and families, he saw a way to support those in need while taking control of his destiny through business ownership.

“Many seniors’ homes get neglected as they are going through the process of aging in place,” said Pilkington. “Let's be honest  — families don’t always want to deal with it, and often they also aren’t in the local area. With TruBlue, I saw a way to get after the problem while also having fun with it.”

Additionally, Pilkington said he saw a growing demand for these services in his community of Colorado Springs and all over the country. “Before COVID, about 40% of people wanted their senior loved ones to age in place, now it is at 90%,” he said. “So TruBlue is really well suited for that shift. This is a social and economic issue — you have 27 million seniors who need these services right now, and by 2030 that number is expected to reach 71 million.”

Pilkington officially signed on with TruBlue Total House Care in March this year and is planning to open in the fall. “We have the opportunity to really help extend seniors’ lives and create a better quality of life,” said Pilkington. “Also, many home care agencies are having problems because the houses they provide care in aren’t suited to their services. We have an opportunity to create a safer environment for not only the seniors but also their caregivers and families. With TruBlue, one call does it all — we are not just a handyman service. We are really a senior property manager. We handle all of the small jobs other contractors aren’t willing to tackle. The average American home has 22 simple items that can be fixed, and if we can’t fix it, we can connect clients with other service providers in the area who can.”

Looking ahead, Pilkington says he is most excited to provide this much-needed service to his community and become a go-to resource for seniors and busy families in Colorado Springs.

“Obie has an amazing story, and it is clear that he really aligns with our core values and our mission,” said Sean Fitzgerald, TruBlue’s President. “We are thrilled to welcome him to the TruBlue family, and we are excited to see the positive impact he will make on his community with his TruBlue Total House Care business.”

TruBlue is actively seeking passionate and qualified franchise owners like Pilkington in markets across the country and has identified Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville and Naples, Florida, as well as Dallas and Austin, Texas, as key development markets.

The total investment estimate for a TruBlue Total House Care franchise ranges from $65,050–$91,400. To learn more about franchising with TruBlue, please visit https://trubluefranchise.com/.