MINNEAPOLIS, June 19, 2008—Former MMA board chair Timothy Crimmins, M.D., has authored a cover story on the state of corporate wellness for the current issue of Twin Cities Business Journal.

The article is an adaptation of a talk Crimmins gave at a January 17 gathering organized by Twin Cities North Chamber in Mounds View. Crimmins, who serves as vice president for health, safety, and the environment at General Mills, writes about how General Mills keeps health care costs down by promoting health and wellness in employees.

The article traces Crimmins' own pathway in coming to better understand healthy living, going back to his early experiences in emergency rooms.

"Much of the sickness I treated at the emergency department of Hennepin County Medical Center was preventable," Crimmins writes. "And the estimate is that about 25 percent of the medical care that doctors are providing is either inappropriate or unnecessary."

General Mills decided to focus on three health risks among its employee population: smoking, weight control, and heart risk factors, such as high cholesterol and blood pressure. His article relates what the company learned as it undertook to effect changes in these three factors.

"This isn’t about knowledge," Crimmins writes. "It’s not just giving them a pamphlet on how many calories in a burger; it really has got to be motivational and tailored to the individual. What works for that person? That’s the hard part—how to make it work for the individual."

It’s about creating a culture, he says. If your senior leaders are smoking and overweight and they have a three-martini lunch, the job is more difficult.

He's learned that people really enjoy doing standing or sitting yoga. They appreciate a healthy, free breakfast. For the sake of morale, don't remove chocolate from vending machines. If you are meeting with just one person, why not go for a walk together?

Twin Cities Business Journal article