Froedtert Health announced Tuesday that it’s joining the MKE Tech Hub Coalition, a nonprofit group of local companies aiming to inclusively double southeastern Wisconsin’s technology workforce by 2025.
The Milwaukee-based health care system is signing on as a silver member with a $100,000 yearly commitment for two years, according to MKE Tech Hub Coalition CEO Kathy Henrich. It will also have a seat on the coalition’s advisory team and on any selected subcommittees.
Froedtert Health will be one of the most financially invested companies among the 75 organizations that have signed on to support the coalition’s efforts financially and through representation on the coalition’s board, advisory team and subcommittees. Aside from We Energies, which joined as a gold member in January 2020 for a $500,000 annual two-year commitment, Froedtert is the biggest contributor to join the coalition since it was founded in October 2019.
“As a local health system, we recognize the importance of tech jobs on the future of our organization, the local economy, and the broader goal to transform health care that we all benefit from,” Mike Anderes — chief digital officer for Froedtert Health and president of Froedtert’s digital technology health arm, Inception Health — said in a statement.
The original six companies in the coalition pledged a combined $6.2 million over two years, with Advocate Aurora Health and Northwestern Mutual each committing $1 million per year. Johnson Controls and Kohl’s Corp. each signed on for $500,000 per year; Rockwell Automation for $100,000 per year; and Accenture for $10,000 per year.
Froedtert Health has been involved in several technology-focused initiatives in the Milwaukee area, including Reverse Pitch MKE, a virtual entrepreneurship pitch competition event in partnership with Northwestern Mutual and the MKE Tech Hub Coalition; and Reverse Pitch MKE High School Edition, a similar event aimed at students.
Froedtert launched Inception Health in 2015 as the hub of its partnerships and investments in digital health innovation. It set up a $15 million health technology investment fund in 2018 and has invested in health startups including Xealth, a Seattle-based platform for scaling digital health solutions, and Babyscripts, a virtual maternity care software company based in Washington, D.C.
