The VuStik Mission
Our mission at VuStik is simple. We aim to reduce the number of needle stick attempts and improve patient satisfaction with use of the VuStik 3S System. 

VuStik is dedicated to improving clinical practice by overcoming barriers in nursing IV access training and improving the approach to peripheral IV access procedures.

Executive Management

Frank J. Ball
Chief Executive Officer
(frank@vustik.com) 

Mr. Ball describes himself as being “like a prism, seeing business as its component parts.” He is an original thinker who “sees around corners” to find opportunities, create new products, devise innovative strategies and execute fresh initiatives. He is passionate about fostering sources of value and mitigating uncertainty. A high-challenge, high-intensity, no-apologies leader who creates action, initiates bold plans, ignites new vision, engineers change, sets strategy, achieves goals, builds teams, inspires and motivates. Leader of Executive Team, who thrives on making a business stronger, more focused on its core competencies, more productive, more customer responsive and more engaging for employees. A results-driven leader that utilizes the voice of customers (VOC) to drive continuous improvement through quality and process. A focused executive that develops close customer relationships cultivating loyalty plus a lasting bond between client and company. History of success directing high-performance teams to deliver bottom-line revenue results. Strength closing the gap between vision, strategy and execution.

He has served in executive leadership roles with several dynamic companies consistently turning them into highly productive machines, that staff are proud to be a member of, customers are pleased to be associated with. Possessing 29 years of business leadership experience, he is a proven successful executive. Direct experience leading manufacturing operations serving 10 western states plus northern Mexico and western Canada. Lead strategic business, operations plus sales/marketing for 9 retail operations with over 600 employees. Grew startup into national franchise of 26 stores doing $128MM, then rolled up to public firm.

Mr. Ball exudes inspiration and leads from the front, with a strong moral philosophy. He often says; the hallmark of a successful plan is in the execution. Successful execution is dependent upon attitude and team work. Teamwork is a function of skillful leadership. He creates a successful team using three basic steps: creating a connected vision, driving a radical commitment, and building confidence in leadership. He inspires confidence and supports a winning attitude by following three important principles: doing the right thing, making himself the example, and producing consistently good results.

Steven Drucker
VP Engineering
(steven@vustik.com) 

Mr. Drucker has more than 30 years of system design and management experience and over 10 years of experience developing medical devices, in both engineering and management capacities. His credits include multiple patents in electro-optics and small medical devices as well as designing and implementing processes to move companies into compliance with regulatory environments such as those required by ISO 9000 and the FDA.

He has served as Director of Software Development at Instill Corp, Project Director at MDL Information Systems, Director of Instrumentation at TheraSense (a medical device startup), Director of New Product Development at Vital Insite (a medical device startup), and Director of the Medical Products division at Andros. Under his leadership, Andros became a key supplier of medical equipment to HP and Siemens, and the FreeStyle blood glucose meter went from an undocumented prototype into production. He has won awards for his technical contributions at Instill and Vital Insite.

Mr. Drucker has a BSEE degree from M.I.T.

Toni Harris, MD
Chief Science Officer
(toni@vustik.com)
Dr. Toni Harris is a graduate of the University of Arizona and Stanford Medical School. She is a board certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist and is fellowship trained in Urogynecology. Dr. Harris is a physician-scientist who is published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Science and Nature. She has previously worked with several medical startup companies as a principle investigator for ASI, as Chief Science Officer for FemiNova, and as an Advisory Board member and clinical investigator for Genyx.

Col Melvyn Harris, MD
Chief Medical Officer & Co-founder
(mel@vustik.com) 
Dr. Harris is currently on faculty at Loma Linda University Medical Center, division of Emergency Medicine.  He has over 25 years of experience in Emergency Medicine and served as the Head of the Emergency Department for the 352nd Combat Support Hospital, Oakland Army Base, Oakland, CA from 1997 to 2003, while serving in the Army Reserve Medical Corp.

Karissa Anderson
Marketing Director
(karissa@vustik.com)
Ms. Anderson has held management positions with several national retail chains where she developed marketing strategy and programming. She received a B.A. from UCLA in Communications Studies and Business Administration.

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Board of Directors

Ernie Bodai, MD
Dr. Bodai is the Director, Breast Surgical Services at Kaiser Permanente. He is a practicing surgical oncologist and CEO of curebreastcancer.org. Dr. Bodai is the creative mastermind of the Breast Cancer Research Postage Stamp – in 66 counties. To date, the stamp has raised over $100 million for breast cancer research. He has authored over 250 medical articles and has published 5 books, 4 of which focus on cancer. He serves as a board member or medical director of several companies including Sontek Medical, B&B Medical, Liv International, and Nutracea, an international leader in the development of neutriceuticals.

Karen Rose
Ms. Rose was Group Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Clorox Company from December 1997 until her retirement in October 2003. Prior to that, Ms. Rose held various management positions including Director of Finance, Household Products Company and Vice President and Treasurer since joining Clorox in 1978. Ms. Rose currently serves on the Board of Directors of Bare Escentuals, Inc. and Maidenform, Inc. both public companies. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of The Magic Theatre in San Francisco and a member of the Board of Visitors of the Pathways to Learnings Project of the University of Wisconsin. Ms. Rose received a B.A. in History from the University of Wisconsin and an M.B.A. in Finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

Toni Harris, MD , Chief Science Officer
(see bio above)

Cameron Lewis
(cameron@vustik.com)
Mr. Lewis has more than 25 years of experience in large corporate as well as successful entrepreneurial business ventures, including some of the best known medical and high-technology companies of the past decade: Netscape, McAfee.com, Medscape, PatientKeeper, and Actuality Systems.  He has been CEO, SVP Product, Business Development, Worldwide Marketing and Operations.  In his diverse roles he has brought products to market in Medical Information Technology, Visualization Technology, Internet Security and Electronic Commerce. Past CEO VuStik, Inc.  

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Advisory Board

Cameron Lewis
(see bio above)

Dr. Saul Schaefer
Dr. Schaefer is the Head of Cardiology for the Veterans Administration Hospital System of Northern California. He is widely published in the field of cardiology and received his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering.  He has agreed to become the Chairman of our Medical Advisory Board.

Dennis Carter
Mr. Carter is a Clinical Manager with 17 years of paramedic experience at American Medical Response (the largest private ambulance provider in the US).

Dr. Bernard Dannenberg
Dr. Dannenberg is the Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital and at Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA.

Bonnie Davis, RN
Ms. Davis brings 40 years of nursing experience in the civilian arena as well as 14 years in the Army Nursing Corps, U.S. Army Reserve. She is presently Pediatric Charge RN at Kaiser Permanente Hospital, Sacramento, CA.

Lynn Hoeltke, MT (ASCP), PBT, DLM
Mr. Hoeltke has been involved in clinical laboratory science and education for over 30 years. He holds an M.B.A. from Butler University and received a B.S. in Microbiology from Purdue University. He has authored several books in the field of Phlebotomy, including 3 text books, and is considered by his peers to be a thought-leader in this field.

Gigi Rodriguez, RN
Mrs. Rodriguez is a Pediatric Emergency Department Nurse with more than twenty years of emergency room experience between two level 1 trauma centers. She is also a Nursing Skills Instructor for the Health Careers Resource Center at Mt. San Antonio Community College.

Ronald S. Dickson
Mr. Dickson is Vice President of Government and Corporate Accounts for SonoSite Inc., and has over 24 years of sales experience in the ultrasound-imaging field.

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