Milwaukee health tech entrepreneurs launch new organization

An organization aimed at connecting health technology companies in Milwaukee formally launched Tuesday.

HealthTech MKE, which is dedicated to supporting the city’s health technology industry, began with a panel discussion that was part of Milwaukee Startup Week.

“This is a real labor of love for all of us,” said Jay Mason, strategic advisor for Intellivisit, which offers an app that uses artificial intelligence to identify probable diagnoses for a patient. “This has been a little bit in the works, so it’s kind of an epiphany moment for me.”

Eric Haberichter, Access HealthNet CEO, said Milwaukee has some of the highest quality healthcare systems in the country. And the area has a “highly energized” manufacturing base with a number of software developers.

“The foundation is here,” he said. “The journey of building from a foundation to a health tech center that people are going to recognize from a distance frankly is capital.”

Haberichter, whose company works with employers and providers to create bundled healthcare procedures, said that the city’s “incredibly strong Midwestern values make us an exceptional investment base.”

Jake Behrens, CEO of Envision ADHD, said that entrepreneurs and clinicians in the city need more support. Envision ADHD offers specialized treatment for adults with ADHD

“You have beautiful people in healthcare,” he said. “We need to support them.”

Amanda Baltz, CEO of Spaulding Medical, said growing her company, which produces handheld ECG devices, will need “big, big thinking.” It’ll also need partners, including those that can offer healthcare settings to test out products.

“Milwaukee is the most intentional about becoming the tech hub in our country,” she said.