Audience members look on during final presentations of the Steel Works Health Accelerator’s gradutaiton event for it first cohort of participants on June 10, 2026, at Omaha Catalyst.

OMAHA, Nebraska (June 10, 2026)—Steel Works Health Accelerator closed its inaugural cohort with a graduation that included final pitches from all six startup companies today in the Forge Event Hall of Omaha Catalyst in the EDGE District.

Midway through the program, serial entrepreneur Kirk Zeller delivered brief remarks to an estimated crowd of 80. Zeller, who has built several international medical device companies, served as the Resident Mentor for the Steel Works program.

“We’re here at a graduation, which would indicate we’re at the end of something,” he said. “We’re actually at the beginning of something… My message today is it’s not over. It’s time to build your companies.”

The six companies that delivered their final presentations included five with software solutions to series healthcare issues, and one medical device that would better protect caregivers from infectious diseases.

The presentations were led by:

• Ed O’Leary, Aprendo Cardiovascular Solutions
• Shiela Fields, RxNex Solutions, Inc.
• Marcia Shade, Voice-IT, Inc.
• Tim Crane & Beth Beam, RedSentrix
• Steve Salzbrenner & Chris Henkenius, Breezmed
• Ronald Krueger & Ashok Puri, Deep Health Diagnostics, LLC

UNeMed, the University of Nebraska’s technology transfer and commercialization office for UNMC and UNO, secured the grant funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration that helped create Steel Works. To make the program a reality, UNeMed partnered with UNeTech Institute, the University’s startup incubator program, and CQuence Health, a local venture organization focused on healthcare-related startups.

“When I came to Omaha 21 years ago,” CQuence CEO, Kyle Salem, said, “one of the things that struck me was, ‘Why couldn’t Omaha be the next biomedical hub in the United States?'”

All the critical elements were in place, they just needed to come together in a program like Steel Works, he said.

“The benefit is in starting something that can grow exponentially in the coming years,” he said. “Hopefully this first cohort becomes the first set of businesses.”

All but one of the presenting startups, Rx Nex Solutions, grew from innovations created at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Rx Nex Solutions plans to prevent the inefficient and overuse of antibiotic prescriptions.

The companies based on UNMC innovations were: Aprendo Cardiovascular, an improved  software-based medical training program for students and young physicians and surgeons; Breezmed, a software platform that would help physicians navigate prior authorizations for prescriptions with insurance companies; Deep Health Diagnostics, an AI-powered diagnostic tool for eye conditions; PAINChat by Voice-It, a software tool to better asses and manage patient pain; and RedSentrix, an improved design on the protective air-purifying helmets that caregivers wear for infectious diseases.

Organizers also announced that plans are already underway for the second cohort and are now accepting applications here. Anyone interested in joining the program as an adviser or mentor are also welcome to enlist their skills, talents and expertise here.