FARMINGTON, Conn. — Gov. Ned Lamont and executives of WellSpark Health today announced plans for the company to rapidly grow its operations in its Farmington location, including the creation of more than 280 new jobs over the next seven years.
Established in 2013, WellSpark Health (formerly Care Management Solutions, Inc.) is a wellbeing, disease prevention and management company focused on economically diverse, multicultural, long-tenured employee populations who struggle with their health.
The company currently employs more than 70 people at its Farmington headquarters and is actively recruiting new hires.
“My administration is laser-focused on doing everything we can to get Connecticut’s economy growing again, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Lamont said. “We are seeing some encouraging signs, including an increase of 16,500 new households moving into the state over the last year, and a nine percent increase in new business registrations."
He continued: "Today we celebrate another key to our economic recovery – companies making the strategic decision to invest and grow here. WellSpark is a homegrown company that has shown innovation and rapid growth over the last several years.”
Roberta (Bert) Wachtelhausen, president of WellSpark Health said as a rapidly growing company nationwide, they have chosen to stay in Connecting because of the top-notch talent pool the state has to offer.
"As a Connecticut native and UConn graduate myself, I know the state is a great place to live and work," she said.
The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development is supporting the expansion with “earn-as-you-grow” incentives that provide grants in arrears over a seven-year period as job targets are reached.
The company can earn up to a total of $1,492,100 in grants if 287 jobs are created by the end of 2026 and retained for two years. Funding may be used for capital improvements, computer and production equipment, and other business-related expenses.
The announcement comes after the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 712,000, the lowest total since early November. It said applications for unemployment aid dropped by 42,000 from 754,000 the week before.
The figure, though the lowest weekly figure in four months, showed that weekly applications for jobless benefits still remain high by historical standards: Before the viral outbreak, they had never topped 700,000, even during the Great Recession.
All told, 4.1 million Americans are receiving traditional state unemployment benefits. Counting supplemental federal unemployment programs that were established to soften the economic damage from the virus, an estimated 20.1 million people are collecting some form of jobless aid.
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