Southern Ohio Medical Center is the No. 1 large-size employer in Ohio, according to the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

SOMC is one of Fortune's 100 best companies to work for in America.

SOMC is the first hospital in the region to achieve the American Nurses Credentialing Center's highest honor, the Magnet designation, recognizing national excellence in nursing.

With all of those accolades coming in, one might be tempted to think the facility would rest on its laurels.

Actually nothing could be further from the truth.

As the next few months pass, SOMC will continue to unveil more of its more than $110 million expansion - an expansion that not only is about infrastructure, but personnel and services.

Friday afternoon, President and CEO Randy Arnett, and Jason Lovins, interim director of community relations, took the opportunity to lead a tour of part of the new facility.

"On Monday the lobby and the main entrance will open so the public can have easier access to the hospital by coming through this central hub to get to wherever they need to go," Lovins said, standing in the new opening to the main entrance. "So on Monday, the lobby, Information and Registration desk and the registration rooms, the Gift Gallery and access to the rest of the hospital will open, so it will be easier."

Lovins said, instead of the open and impersonal booths utilized in the past for registration, individual rooms will allow for personal individual attention.

"We have a streamlined process of admitting patients, scheduling patients for tests, explaining what they can expect and helping them find their way," said Pam Partlow, manager of Registration and Central Scheduling. "The new registration rooms support that process with additional privacy and the convenience of private conference rooms for financial counseling and other needs."

Lovins said the new caf