The Franklin County Board of Commissioners will vote tomorrow on a resolution awarding a $50,000 grant to provide training for 116 new employees at local business, CoverMyMeds. The resolution was introduced at last Thursday's weekly county briefing meeting, and the commissioners are expected to approve the grant.
This grant is the latest of a series of Workforce Innovation Training Grants (WIT-G) that the county administers, which provide funding to local companies to train new employees in return for a commitment by the employer to hire a certain number of new staff. CoverMyMeds will be hiring 116 new employees by June of 2017 to work in its Franklin County offices, an investment in the community of about $1.5 million, and bringing the company’s annual payroll to more than $7.5 million.
“The WIT-G grants have been a great success for connecting Franklin County residents and employers,” said Commission President Marilyn Brown. “For a targeted, modest investment, we’ve been able to support local businesses, encourage them to hire more Franklin County workers, and pump millions of dollars into our Central Ohio economy.”
Founded in 2008, CoverMyMeds is one of the fastest growing healthcare technology companies in the U.S. The company automates the process of pre-authorization of medical prescriptions, saving time and money for pharmacies, patients, and their doctors. With nearly 400,000 prescribers and pharmacists onboard and 140 current employees, the company helps more than 10 million patients get the medicines they need.
“CoverMyMeds is a unique and creative, hometown family business,” said Commissioner Paula Brooks. “When, as a Franklin County Commissioner, I can help fund training of our citizens, and, assure they have the good jobs to go along with it here in central Ohio, it is a total ‘win-win’” Franklin County has placed five similar grants with local businesses going back to 2012 and totaling more than $600,000. The county Economic Development and Planning Department administers the grants, ensuring that recipients are living up to their end of the bargain by hiring the new employees to which they’ve committed, and using the funds to train those workers for the future. Previous WIT-G grants have been made with companies such as Quantum Health, IBM, and Exel Freight Connect, and are expected to result in more than 1,600 new local hires in Franklin County.
“These WIT-G grants are a great way for us to invest in local businesses and our Franklin County workforce,” said Commissioner John O’Grady. “It’s this kind of innovation in government and economic development that is helping to keep Franklin County such a great place to live, work, and do business.”
The county Board of Commissioners will vote on the grant at Tuesday’s weekly session. If approved, funding (and hiring) can begin immediately.
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For more information on the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, call the Office of Public Affairs at (614) 525-3322 or visit
www.FranklinCountyOhio.gov/Commissioners.