AmanaCare earns 2026 home care honors in Lincoln, North Platte and Scottsbluff
Three Nebraska communities. Three local awards. One mission connecting them all.
In 2026, AmanaCare was recognized for outstanding home care in Lincoln, North Platte and Scottsbluff, earning top honors through three separate community-voted awards programs across the state.
For a faith-based, family-owned and operated Nebraska company, each recognition means something special. At the heart of AmanaCare is a mission that guides our work across every community we serve:
“We honor the God-given dignity of those we serve, lead, and work beside.”
These aren’t awards decided by people far removed from the communities we serve. They reflect the voices of local residents who live, work, raise families and care for loved ones in the same communities our teams call home.
And this year, those communities gave us three pretty incredible reasons to celebrate.
Lincoln: Lincoln’s Choice 2026 Winner
The celebrations began at our home office in Lincoln.
The Lincoln Journal Star’s annual Lincoln’s Choice Awards invited community members to nominate their favorite local businesses early in 2026. The top nominees advanced to the voting round, and when winners were revealed in April, AmanaCare earned First Place in the Home Health Care category.
For CEO Erich Nickman, the recognition was both an honor and motivation to keep getting better:
“I am amazed and humbled that AmanaCare won Best of Lincoln. It is truly an honor. While the award is something we receive with gratitude, we are aware that we still have a lot of areas we can continue to improve in, and we’re excited to keep working on improving as a team.”
Lincoln holds a special place in the AmanaCare story. In addition to serving clients and families throughout the area, it’s home to our main office and many of the people supporting AmanaCare’s work across Nebraska.
Our Lincoln-based team includes CEO Erich Nickman, COO Jenny Laschanzky, Director of Recruitment Eliot Wondercheck, Director of Operations Mikah Christensen, Care Coordinator BreeAnn Osborne, Office Coordinator and Compliance Team Manager Cindy Laws, Compliance Specialists Jay Dodge and Dawn Nickel, and Compliance Specialist and Care Coordinator Team Lead Janell Grgurich.
While many of these roles happen behind the scenes, they’re an important reminder that great home care takes an entire team—from the caregivers entering homes each day to the people coordinating care, supporting employees, maintaining compliance and helping AmanaCare continue to grow responsibly.
And Erich’s point about continuing to improve is an important one. Awards are worth celebrating, but they’re not a finish line. They’re encouragement to keep listening, learning and finding ways to serve Nebraska families even better.
Winning Lincoln’s Choice was an exciting way to start the year. Little did we know Nebraska wasn’t finished with us yet.
North Platte: Best of the Region 2026
A few months later, attention turned west.
The North Platte Telegraph’s 2026 Best of the Region program began with nominations in June, followed by community voting in July and August. When winners were announced on September 26, AmanaCare received top honors in the Home Health Care category.
Our North Platte office is led locally by Director of Operations Sara Yates, alongside Care Coordinator Joanna Shearer and Director of Marketing Heather Schanou.
The recognition was particularly meaningful because our North Platte team spends a great deal of time out in the community; not only providing and coordinating care, but building relationships, supporting local organizations, participating in community events and connecting families with resources.
Sara summed up what the recognition means to the team:
“Being voted Best Home Care in North Platte is a reflection of the incredible caregivers who show up every day with compassion and heart. I’m proud to lead a team that truly cares for our clients, their families, and this community we call home.”
The award belongs just as much to the caregivers serving North Platte-area families every day. They’re the people invited into clients’ homes, trusted with their routines and relied upon to provide the kind of support that helps people remain safe and independent.
And September 26 brought another surprise.
Scottsbluff: Best of the West 2026
More than 250 miles west of North Platte, our Scottsbluff/Gering team had something of their own to celebrate.
The Star-Herald’s 2026 Best of the West program invited the community to recognize outstanding businesses throughout Western Nebraska. When the results were announced, AmanaCare was named Best in Home Care.
Director of Operations Susanna Rogers, Care Coordinator Anthony Braithwaite and Scheduling Coordinator Aggie Martin help lead our local efforts in the Panhandle, working alongside the caregivers serving families throughout the region.
For Susanna, the award was a reflection of the people doing that work every day:
“Learning that AmanaCare was voted Best in the West for home care filled me with pride and gratitude! This recognition reflects the compassion, dedication, and heart our caregivers bring into every home. It is incredibly meaningful to know that our community sees and values the difference we work so hard to make in the lives of local families.”
North Platte’s Best of the Region and Scottsbluff’s Best of the West were both announced on September 26; which made for one especially memorable day at AmanaCare.
Three Awards. One Mission.
Lincoln, North Platte and Scottsbluff are very different Nebraska communities. That’s part of what makes these three recognitions so meaningful.
AmanaCare has grown to serve communities across Nebraska, but we’ve never wanted growth to mean losing the local relationships that make home care personal.
Our teams live in the communities they serve. They participate in local events, work alongside healthcare and community partners, support local organizations and, most importantly, develop relationships with the clients and families who trust us inside their homes.
Behind every local office is also the strength of one statewide AmanaCare team.
We’re faith-based, family-owned and operated, and Nebraska proud. And the mission that guides us is the same one we started with: honoring the God-given dignity of those we serve, lead, and work beside.
That mission doesn’t change based on the city or ZIP code.
Neither does our belief that home care should be about more than completing a list of tasks. It’s about helping people continue living safely, independently and with dignity in the place they know best: home.
The Biggest Recognition Belongs to Our Caregivers
We’ll proudly display these awards. And yes, we’re going to celebrate them. But the names printed on the awards may say AmanaCare; the recognition belongs to the people behind that name.
It’s the caregiver who shows up when someone is depending on them.
It’s the scheduler who works to make sure a client isn’t left without care.
It’s the care coordinator who listens when a family is overwhelmed.
It’s the local team building relationships throughout its community and the statewide team working behind the scenes to support them.
And it’s every client, family member, referral partner and community member who has trusted AmanaCare, recommended us to someone they love or taken the time to cast a vote.
Lincoln’s Choice. Best of the Region. Best of the West.
Three communities chose to recognize AmanaCare in 2026, and we couldn’t be more grateful.
Three cities. Three wins. One amazing team. 💙
And with six local AmanaCare teams serving communities across Nebraska, we’re excited to keep earning that trust; one family, one relationship and one community at a time.
Visit www.amana-care.com to learn more about our services and the team behind the care.
- What’s New in North Platte? Big Wins, New Faces & Plenty of Community Connection - October 13, 2026
- The Omaha Office in Action: Building Connections Across the Community - October 12, 2026
- The Latest from Lincoln: Showing Up, Giving Back & Looking Ahead - October 10, 2026
