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, PLLC.