Since launching in January 2026, the Nebraska Health Care Foundation’s Cars for Caregivers program has awarded four vehicles to employees who lacked reliable transportation to work. In a largely rural state, transportation can be a significant barrier to employment.

The program is one of several unconventional workforce solutions developed collaboratively by the Nebraska Health Care Association (NHCA) and its foundation. The Foundation conducts the initial application and vetting process before referring eligible applicants to Chariots4Hope, a Nebraska-based nonprofit that has spent the past 10 years helping people overcome transportation barriers through a network of more than 100 referral organizations. Chariots4Hope completes the additional review, vehicle placement, and participant education.

“We don’t just hand someone the keys and send them on their way,” said Jason Hurt, who founded Chariots4Hope with his wife, Michelle. “We provide classes on maintaining a vehicle, insurance, driving, and other responsibilities of car ownership, and we want participants to know we’re invested in their long-term success.”

“Those who work in Nebraska’s nursing homes and assisted living communities are incredibly dedicated and show up every day because they know their residents are counting on them,” said Jalene Carpenter, president and CEO of the Nebraska Health Care Association. “We created Cars for Caregivers after hearing transportation was a barrier for staff, and we wanted to find a practical way to help people stay in the workforce while supporting their own families.”

Cars for Caregivers is made possible by individuals and organizations that donate vehicles and funds. Donors include NHCA provider and vendor members, as well as members of the public. Vehicles do not need to be operable. Nine vehicles have been donated since the program launched, and the four recipients to date have benefited through a variety of arrangements, including proceeds from vehicle sales, scrap value, and, in one case, the donor vehicle itself.

The program offers a different way to approach workforce retention: identify a practical barrier keeping someone from work and find a creative way to remove it.

Tracy Rathe is senior vice president of strategic initiatives at the Nebraska Health Care Association. She also leads the Nebraska Health Care Foundation’s mission to attract, develop, and retain the workforce serving Nebraska’s nursing homes and assisted living communities through innovative initiatives.​

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