Aparna Mekala, MPH, is a Principal in CohnReznick’s Healthcare Industry practice. With more than 20 years working in the healthcare industry, she leads the firm’s Strategic Business Advisory services. Her advisory services are purpose built to help providers create lasting value at their organizations. She is skilled across many areas and has a demonstrated history of helping clients develop strategic and operational plans, interpret and advise on federal requirements related to grants, conduct financial feasibility projections and market assessments for strategic initiatives, and support corporate compliance and regulatory activities related to primary care transformation. Aparna’s work is uniquely focused on advancing health equity and includes collaboration with our Affordable Housing and New Market Tax Credit practices on the intersection of health, housing, childcare, and other community development needs for low-income communities. Her clients include Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Primary Care Associations (PCAs), behavioral health organizations, community-based hospitals—which include academic medical centers, other ambulatory care providers, and social service agencies.  

Aparna is a frequent speaker at national and state primary care and behavioral health conferences on topics focused on strategic business planning with a focus on bridging financial, operational, and programmatic goals for an organization. She is a subject matter expert on federal requirements pertaining to the FQHC program and often assists distressed health centers with turnaround plans to help them maintain compliance with federal agencies. Prior to joining CohnReznick, Aparna worked as a management consultant at another accounting firm for many years and before that, spent time in corporate planning departments at New York City Health + Hospitals and Brigham and Women’s Hospital where she managed special projects across the systems.