A look at the people behind the numbers in area business:

July 15, 2012 at 6:27PM

A look at the people behind the numbers in area business:

DR. TIMOTHY CRIMMINS

MEDICA

Title: Medical director for employer relations

Dr. Timothy Crimmins has an ambitious goal as new medical director for employer relations at Medica, the Minnetonka-based insurer that covers thousands of employers and over 1.5 million individual members.

"My goal is to make Minnesota the No. 1 healthiest state in the union," said Crimmins, who will work with Medica customers on strategies to improve employee health and wellness and to improve care at lower cost.

Crimmins has focused on improving health and safety of patients and employees since 1981, when he began a residency in emergency medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center.

Before joining Medica, Crimmins was vice president of health, safety and environment at General Mills, which won honors as a healthy workplace. He had worked with the Emergency Physicians Professional Association at Fairview Southdale and Fairview Ridges hospitals. He later returned to HCMC as an assistant professor of emergency medicine with the University of Minnesota and became the hospital's deputy medical director.

Q How does the Supreme Court decision upholding the Affordable Care Act affect your job?

A A lot of the issues that the recent legislation dealt with, Minnesota had wrestled with some years ago and gotten to a pretty good place, resolving them to provide really pretty good coverage, pretty affordable coverage and darn good quality. We've got to keep working on improving health because there's a lot of health risks out there. I think the costs are still burdensome to some of our citizens and employers in this state.

Q Are there any medical TV shows or movies you enjoy watching that in your experience seem more authentic?

A "ER" with George Clooney. That one was so real. When it first came out it was just like going to work. It was like all of the best or worst cases of your life compressed into 60 minutes.

TODD NELSON

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