As many as 143 employees of a Richmond-based wellness-program provider may be without jobs when a contract to work with state and local government employees expires June 30.

All 86 full-time and 57 part-time employees may be affected, Continental Health Promotion Inc. spokeswoman Laura Campbell said.

The wellness-program contract was for 32 Continental employees, a state director said.

Virginia officials did not renew the company's $5 million annual contract because the state decided to run the program internally, said Mike Salster, director of employee services for the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management. The estimated saving will be about $3.2 million per year, he said.

Continental Health Promotion, which ran the program for more than 20 years, filed notice with the Governor's Office for Workforce Development that the company will permanently reduce its staff on July 4.

The company offered fitness classes, quarterly educational seminars and on-site health assessments to state employees through the CommonHealth program, and to employees of 230 local governments and school districts through The Local Choice Health Benefits program.

Health challenges, such as losing weight or stopping smoking, were part of the program.

The entire Richmond staff was notified of possible layoffs because the company has not determined how many people will be retained. "They gave notification to everyone but they intend for some employees to stay on," Campbell said.

The company is a subsidiary of Tennessee-based Gordian Health Solutions and has other contracts locally but would not disclose the number of clients.
Contact Emily C. Dooley at (804) 649-6016 or edooley@timesdispatch.com.