In 1977, J. Spencer Atwater, Jr., M.D. made the decision to establish his
medical practice in Asheville, North Carolina, specializing in the practice
of allergy, asthma, and immunology. Dr. Atwater, who is board certified in
both pediatrics and allergy and immunology, developed an
outstanding reputation throughout the region for delivering high quality
professional medical care. In 1987, David A. Brown, M.D.
joined the practice to help fill the area’s growing need for high quality
medical care. Dr. Brown, who is also board certified in both
pediatrics and allergy and immunology, proved to be a great addition to the
practice providing the additional medical resources needed to further expand
the practice into neighboring communities in Western North Carolina.
Accordingly, satellite offices were
established in the towns of Brevard, Hendersonville, Marion, and Clyde,
North Carolina. With the addition of Donald W. Russell, M.D.
to the practice in 1991, the group changed their name to Mountain Allergy &
Asthma, P.A. (MAA) and was well positioned to meet the ever growing demand
for services. Also in 1991, Mountain Allergy & Asthma
acquired the practice of another area allergist servicing the communities of
Morganton, and Rutherfordton, North Carolina and Spartanburg, South
Carolina. Over time, additional physicians were added to the
practice to help service these outlying areas. By this time,
the group had full-time, primary office locations in both Asheville, North
Carolina and Spartanburg, South Carolina and community offices in six other
North Carolina towns and communities. The foundation was set
for the development of a much broader network of allergy, asthma and
immunology specialty offices.
In the years that followed, it became evident to both
Drs. Atwater and Brown that their multi-site practice offered many benefits
in terms of serving a broader patient population and in realizing the
benefits of scale economies available only to larger medical practices.
In 1994, they formulated a more aggressive growth strategy and changed the
name of the practice to Allergy Partners, P.A.