Pair exits DLA Piper to form healthcare consulting firm

Two strategists formerly with DLA Piper have exited to form a new healthcare consulting shop, Sirona Strategies.

The principals, Krista Drobac and Kristen Ratcliff, said their firm will bring expertise in strategy, policy and public affairs to address issues across the healthcare spectrum.

{mosads}”Kristen and I have come together to provide our clients with the timely strategic advice they need as the political, regulatory and marketplace for healthcare changes,” Drobac said in a statement announcing the new firm Thursday.

“We are unique in that we not only build effective advocacy strategies for our clients, but we also connect the dots between advocacy and business strategy, recognizing that the healthcare marketplace is driven more and more by government policy,” said Ratcliff. 

The firm will enter an immediate partnership with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, which houses a large and well-respected healthcare policy practice.

Drobac is known in Washington for her former work with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She also served as executive director of the Alliance for Connected Care.

Ratcliff was previously a special assistant to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and a program examiner at the Office of Management and Budget.

The two will work with Vanessa Cramer, a former senior government affairs specialist at DLA Piper and policy coordinator at Planned Parenthood, as director of client services.