The Story of Acorn to Oak

Acorn to Oak Health is a membership-style medical practice in the Serenbe community of Chattahoochee Hills, south of metro Atlanta. Founded by Dr. Blackmon, a board-certified internist, and Dr. Escalante, a board-certified Pediatrician, our practice spans from infancy through adulthood.

Acorn to Oak came together as both a remarkable coincidence and an enduring labor of love. Dr. Blackmon and Dr. Escalante came to this office and partnership via different personal journeys, though are ecstatic to be joining together to open an innovative, personalized and warm medical practice to provide high-quality primary care to the residents of Serenbe and its surrounding community.

The opening of this office was the result of many hours of conversations over nearly 2 years. Dr. Blackmon and Dr. Escalante were first brought to the table in conversation with larger medical systems who recognized the need for care in our area. At first, we didn't know each other at all, but we started talking about what this office could be and dreaming of innovation in our practice. We were both quite nervous to be entrepreneurs, but discussed how an office in Serenbe could potentially redefine the doctor-patient relationship, leave behind institutional red tape, focus on quality of our patient relationships instead of the number of our patient relationships, and deeply partner with community members in building a practice that is tailor-made to fit the needs of the adults and families living in Serenbe. Serenbe is a unique community and we wanted to create an office striving to mirror its values of wellness, community connection and integration with nature. The vision was so beautiful that we became tied to each other and to this vision, so we decided to start this practice, just the two of us, as a female-owned medical practice. And here we are!

Once we started the work of creating this office, it often felt like kismet. Even selecting our office name was destiny — prior to our first working meeting, we had discussed creating names with some sort of personal meeting. We had both brainstormed a list and came to the table with a written variety of options. Samer had a journal, Christina had a list on her computer. Samer started, “I hope this isn't too out there, but I was really drawn to Acorn to Oak.” Christina stunned, turned around the computer to show a list and reveal her first and favorite idea was in fact also verbatim “Acorn to Oak.” For Samer, it started with a acorn gifted from a patient around the birth of her son. For Christina, it derived from her daughter's first Serenbe daycare called ‘Little Acorns’ that used to be in the very same office space. Named for our mission of lifelong health and wellness, Acorn to Oak aims to nurture children's growth and support adults' vitality.

Our goal at Acorn to Oak is to meet and exceed your expectations for the patient-doctor relationship and reimagine your interactions with healthcare systems. We aim to be a source of trust and comfort in our patient's lives first and foremost.

We hope you'll join us at Acorn to Oak for exceptional, relaxed, convenient and individualized healthcare designed to meet your family's needs!