April 16, 2008 — For Immediate Release
For more information contact:
Donna Marbury, Communications Specialist, Ohio Chamber of Commerce
dmarbury@ohiochamber.com or 614-228-4201

Southern Ohio Medical Center, Cohen and Company Named Best Employers in Ohio

COLUMBUS—The rankings for the Best Employers in Ohio were revealed at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting and Legislative Reception held Tuesday, April 15, 2008. This is the third year for the awards program, which is sponsored by Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield and organized by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the Society of Human Resource Management — Ohio State Council. Twenty companies were honored as Ohio’s Best Employers.

Southern Ohio Medical Center, located in Portsmouth, was named the Best Employer in the Large Employer category (251 employees or more). With more than 2,000 employees in Ohio, SOMC has spent three consecutive years moving up in rankings as one of Ohio’s best employers. The emergency and medical services provider offers employees discounts to local businesses and encourages preventative healthcare and disease with discounts to health and wellness clinics.

Cohen and Company was named the Best Employer in the Small/Medium Employer category (25-250 employees). The Cleveland-based accounting firm with offices throughout Ohio has a formalized networking program that requires each staff person to accumulate a certain number of points monthly based upon their level. The company also celebrated unique national holidays like National Dress Your Pet Day, National Popcorn, and National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day to boost employee morale.

“The companies that made the Best Employers in Ohio list serve as role-models for other Ohio companies,” said Andrew E. Doehrel, president & CEO of the Ohio Chamber.

The Best Employers in Ohio awards program is designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Ohio. To be considered for participation, companies had to fulfill the following eligibility requirements:

Companies from across the state entered the two-part process to determine the Best Employers in Ohio. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics.

This part of the process was worth approximately 35 percent of the total evaluation. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. This part of the process was worth approximately 65 percent of the total evaluation. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process in Ohio with assistance from ModernThink LLC, who analyzed the data and used their expertise to determine the final rankings.

-- 2008 Best Employers in Ohio Rankings --
Large Category (251 employees or more)
1. Southern Ohio Medical Center, Portsmouth
2. Edward Jones, offices throughout Ohio
3. The CareWorks Family of Comapnies, Dublin
4. InfoCision Management Corp., Akron
5. SS&G Financial Services, Inc., throughout Ohio
6. EMP Management Group, Ltd, Canton
7. Firelands Regional Medical Center, Sandusky
8. VSP-Vision Service Plan, Columbus
9. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati
10. Marietta Memorial Hospital, Marietta

Small/Medium Category (25-250 employees)
1. Cohen & Company, with offices throughout Ohio
2. Education Sales Management, Lewis Center
3. Crowe Chizek and Company LLC, offices in Columbus & Cleveland
4. Davis College, Toledo
5. The Quandel Group, Cincinnati
6. RACO Industries LLC, Cincinnati
7. Duke REalty Corporation, offices throughout Ohio
8. COBA/Select Sires, Plain City
9. Packer Thomas, Youngstown
10. Catholic Healthcare Partners, Cincinnati

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