A company that serves retirement care facilities in Rowan County is taking steps to provide transport to polling places this election season for the seniors its serves. 

Quality Transport Non-Emergency Medical Transport (NEMT) President and Co-Owner Wil Taylor said that the company would be offering complimentary transportation for residents of skilled nursing facilities that wish to vote during the early voting period through Election Day. 

“By providing this service, we aim to ensure that seniors and individuals with limited mobility can participate in the election and have their voices heard,” Taylor said. “Our goal is to keep these often-overlooked members of the community engaged in the civic process, particularly in an election as important as this one. We are working with local facilities to provide sign-up sheets and coordinate transportation at no cost to the residents.

“We are excited to do our part to make voting accessible and hope this initiative encourages others to support efforts that keep our community involved in shaping the future of our nation.”

The idea was born out of a transport during the last election cycle. 

“We took a gentleman that we had been transporting for a long time and he asked on the way back to the nursing home from an appointment, can we stop by Spencer?” Taylor said. 

Spencer was the precinct where the man was registered to vote. 

“Seeing how it affected him and still being able to be a part of the electoral process, it kind of touched me and touched my wife,” Taylor said. 

Taylor added that as a Rowan County based company, “We have been dedicated to serving the community for over 30 years, and this election presents a unique opportunity to further that commitment.”

Taylor has collaborated with the facilities that Quality Transport works with.

“We reached out and got their approval,” Taylor said. “We have sign-up sheets out to all of them. We will verify that they can vote and are in the right district and we will take them to whatever facility.”

Quality Transport is a regional company with arms that extend beyond Rowan County’s borders, but locally, it serves Autumn Care of Salisbury, Trinity Oaks, Compass and Piedmont Health and Rehab. 

“We are just trying to give back to the community that we have served for 30 years,” Taylor said.