Smart Partnering starts here.
Established in 2011, TKA’s leadership team brings more than 150 years of combined experience in clinical engineering to our clients, providing strategic direction, financial support and data analytics. We pride ourselves on being a healthcare technology consulting company you can depend on.
George Hampton
What is your role at TKA?
President
Why did you choose this profession?
I began just out of high school. I wanted a career in healthcare, and I had an interest in technology. Biomed was a perfect fit for me.
What is the best part of your job?
Working with a team is a great thing. I also enjoy teaching and encouraging young people.
What has been your proudest moment at TKA and/or in your career?
I was so proud to earn my bachelor’s degree. I had to go to school at night and juggle family responsibilities at the same time. It was one of the most difficult things I have ever experienced. I graduated summa cum laude
Where do you see the industry going in 10 years and what do you see as TKA’s role in that?
I see the industry moving more toward the total management of clinical equipment. Equipment will need less maintenance, but the need for right-sized inventories and the shortage of nurses will create a demand for clinical engineering to be responsible for all aspects of clinical equipment – from procurement to cleaning and storage.
What motivates you to wake up and go to work?
For me, my work team is my family. I want to be my best so we are successful as a team. I am proud to be a part of this team.
What are 3 words to describe TKA?
Smart. Creative. Sincere.
What is something that most people don’t know about you?
I own a 3D printer. I design things to use with my hobbies, such as parts or wall mounts for my musical instruments, and use my printer to produce those items.
Gus Guevara
What is your role at TKA?
Regional Director for Southern California
Why did you choose this profession?
I asked a friend, who was a nurse in the Army Reserves, if there were any technical type jobs in a hospital, and she steered me to a specialty in biomedical equipment repair. I signed up for the U.S. Army and did my basic and advanced technical training in Denver. I proudly served our country for 6.5 years.
What is the best part of your job?
The best part is providing growth opportunities. We pride ourselves on ensuring our technical abilities are the best. We invest in technical training so we can provide the best service outcomes for ourselves and our clients. This, in turn, makes our technicians the best and most relevant in the biomed field.
What has been your proudest moment at TKA and/or in your career?
We offer life-changing opportunities. In particular, I think of a former hospital transporter and a former kitchen assistant. TKA supported their technical training into the biomed field, opening up new career paths.
Another proud time was developing biomeds with a sister hospital in Mexico. I created a technical and managerial curriculum, then two biomeds spent six months at the U.S hospital where I was working. That hands-on approach allowed them to build skills to take back to their hospitals. It was a win-win: The biomeds enriched their abilities, and broken medical equipment that sat unrepaired due to lack of knowledge was put back into service.
Where do you see the industry going in 10 years and what do you see as TKA’s role in that?
Medical device technology and information technology will continue to converge. Cybersecurity will hopefully be addressed collectively by the Food and Drug Administration, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Independent Service Organizations (ISOs), and healthcare organizations to counter and mitigate associated risks. As an ISO, TKA has and will continue to have a role protecting our clients’ assets.
What are 3 words to describe TKA?
Agile. Passionate. Expert.
What is something that most people don’t know about you?
I play the accordion.
Jeff Niederhausen
What is your role at TKA?
Chief Financial Officer
Why did you choose this profession?
I started my college career in marketing, switched to IT programming and knew within two quarters that it wasn’t for me. I remembered doing well in a high school accounting class, so I thought why not give that a try – and here I am now. My first job after earning my associate’s degree was at a biomed company, and I’ve been doing accounting for this industry for well over 20 years now.
What is the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is being involved in our different projects. Accounting work can be routine and tied to a calendar. Having the opportunity to work with other areas is wonderful and exposes me to all aspects of our business.
What has been your proudest moment at TKA and/or in your career?
My proudest moment was being offered and accepting the position with TKA. To reach such a milestone with an outstanding and growing company – in the industry I love – has truly been my proudest moment.
Where do you see the industry going in 10 years and what do you see as TKA’s role in that?
The industry is getting more intertwined with the IT world. As equipment gets more sophisticated, the techs needed to work on it will need a vast computer background. You often need to think outside the box to recruit future employees, as we hire for the attitude and teach the aptitude. Investing in our employees is a major goal because our people drive our success. The more we invest in them, the more our company improves both operationally and financially.
What motivates you to wake up and go to work?
I believe in what we do in bringing value to healthcare. We strive for excellence, while putting our clients’ concerns ahead of the bottom line.
What are 3 words to describe TKA?
Motivated. Trustworthy. Family.
What is something that most people don’t know about you?
I sang in a heavy metal band for about three weeks and gave it up for my girlfriend. Unfortunately, I never went back, and that girlfriend is long gone. I love heavy metal music and go by the saying, “If it’s too loud, you’re too old!”
Dave Francoeur
What is your role at TKA?
Senior Vice President for Marketing and Sales
Why did you choose this profession?
In my first semester in electrical engineering, I realized the field was about drawing design work – and I’m more geared for hands-on activities. As I was leaving, the dean invited me for an exit interview, where he asked me what I like to do and why. I responded with work with electronics, because that’s what I’d watched my dad do, and I was working then in a hospital mopping floors. Not skipping a beat, the dean told me I should be a biomed – and I didn’t know what that was. He sent me to meet a biomedical equipment technology professor at another college. I’ve never looked back.
What is the best part of your job?
I love being part of a great team with a passion for helping people to have the best possible healthcare experience.
What has been your proudest moment at TKA and/or in your career?
Two career moments stay with me. The first was when I eliminated PMs on infusion devices at a three-hospital system. The Risk Management Manager wanted me fired. The CEO said if any problems arose during an upcoming inspection, he’d have to let me go. When asked for PM documentation during the inspection, I said I didn’t have any because I’d eliminated PMs on those devices. The inspector told the CEO never to let me go because I got it. He said I was the first person he’d met that understood how a real compliance program should work.
Another time, I was working with the College of American Pathology, which had a policy to test every laboratory device annually for electrical safety. I didn’t see the value in that as most devices are never unplugged once set up. After three years of effort and documentation, CAP rewrote the standard to require those only for an incoming inspection or after a major repair. That saved biomedical individuals significant time and money.
Where do you see the industry going in 10 years and what do you see as TKA’s role in that?
With technology changing and resource pools drying up, what we’re doing today – and how we’re doing it – isn’t sustainable. We must find different ways to ensure medical devices are maintained appropriately. That change will come via depot and/or field service functions. TKA can help change the workforce model to accommodate that shift. Organizations that aren’t flexible to meet resource demands, technology advances, and workflow likely will wither away.
What motivates you to wake up and go to work?
For me, my work team is my family. I want to be my best so we are successful as a team. I am proud to be a part of this team.
What are 3 words to describe TKA?
Integrity. Altruistic. Grounded.
Bill Axon
What is your role at TKA?
Regional Director for Texas
Why did you choose this profession?
After I left the Navy, where I was working as an aviation electronics engineer, the hospital around the corner was advertising an entry-level biomedical technician job. I decided to apply just to see – and here I am today, 33 years later.
What is the best part of your job?
I enjoying helping people and finding smart ways to get results.
What has been your proudest moment at TKA and/or in your career?
Every time you have a difficult assignment or task and you get it done, you have that feeling of “Yes!”
Where do you see the industry going in 10 years and what do you see as TKA’s role in that?
Artificial intelligence will continue to grow and the lines between information technology and Heathcare Technology Management will continue to blur. Count on TKA to be there – assisting our customers across the life cycle of their equipment and training our people to keep us on the cutting edge of future technology.
What motivates you to wake up and go to work?
I like the challenge to make things better for the overall TKA team.
What are 3 words to describe TKA?
Teamwork. Commitment. Family.
What is something that most people don’t know about you?
I enjoy playing guitar – and I enjoy woodworking when I can. I found a way to combine the two and built my own electric guitar.
John Pollard
What is your role at TKA?
Regional Director for Northern California
Why did you choose this profession?
I had a career-ending injury at my previous job. However, I was able to use my worker’s compensation award in Washington to pay for a degree in biomedical engineering technology.
What is the best part of your job?
Mentoring people and helping my members develop new skills is the best part of my day.
What has been your proudest moment at TKA and/or in your career?
It’s hard to pick just one.
Where do you see the industry going in 10 years and what do you see as TKA’s role in that?
There will be a consolidation of facilities, which will lead to drastic reductions as reimbursements decline. What our client partners need to know and trust is that TKA will continue to offer effective equipment management throughout the ownership cycle.
What motivates you to wake up and go to work?
I’m curious by nature. What will today bring?
What are 3 words to describe TKA?
Committed. Honest. Talented.
Our Team Members
It’s important to choose a healthcare technology consulting partner you can trust since we won’t just be looking in from the outside, we will be moving in. We will hire your existing hospital personnel and integrate them with our highly trained technicians.
The entire team will work together and receive the same manufacture’s training as we work together to optimize your clinical technology department.
