Client honors Dinsmore attorney with significant donation for diabetes research

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) -November is Diabetes Awareness Month and for 16 years the University of Kentucky's Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center has been at the forefront of diabetes education, care, and research.

Diabetes is a disease that affects more than 450,000 people in Kentucky.

For one Lexington attorney her family has made it a mission to find a cure for diabetes and now a major gift in her honor will go a long way in fighting the disease.

For 47 years Barbara Barnstable Edelman has been practicing law and, in that time, she has represented countless clients.

"You have to care as much or more than your clients do about their cases," said Barbara Edelman.

If you look around her Dinsmore & Shohl LLP office, you quickly notice among the law books there is also University of Kentucky memorabilia.

That connection to UK came in handy with one of her clients, longtime Lexington businessperson Mr. Carol Martin "Bill" Gatton.

"Well, there was a little bit of magic, the first time I met him we instantly started talking about UK basketball, "said Edelman.

That initial meeting marked the beginning of an attorney-client relationship that turned into a trusted friendship.

Edelman counseled Mr. Gatton on matters up until his death in 2022.

And it was after one important case that Mr. Gatton chose a unique and meaningful way to show his gratitude to his trusted legal counsel.

"He was giving a lot of thought, I believe, to the legacy he wanted to leave, the things he wanted to do. He had already made so many amazing contributions to the University of Kentucky, but he just in an offhand way said is there anything out there, a charity or something is important to you I might want to make a donation, and I didn't know what to make of that," said Edelman.

There was one charity near and dear to Edelman's heart.

In 2008, Barbara's twin sisters Patricia Barnstable Brown and Priscilla Barnstable along with their mother established the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center at the University of Kentucky.

It was started in honor of Patricia's husband who died of complications of diabetes.

Each year, Patricia hosts the star-studded Barnstable Brown Gala at her Louisville Home.

It has become the family's premiere fundraiser for diabetes research.

Mr. Gatton was aware of her connection.

"I thought it would be a relatively small, gracious honor of some sort, but I had no idea," said Edelman.

The Bill Gatton Foundation donated $16 million to UK's Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center, $10 million of that gift establishes the Barbara B. Edelman Endowed Faculty Fund.

"You could just see her melt with emotion, just the tears flowed that someone else was on board with her family's vision for improving the lives of people in Kentucky and improving diabetes care," said Dr. Simon Fisher.

Dr. Simon Fisher is the director of the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center and sees firsthand daily the need for advancing diabetes care in Kentucky.

"There are simply not enough diabetes specialists in the state, there is not enough physicians, there are not enough providers, there is not enough nurse practitioners, there is not enough diabetes educators and right now there is unfortunately a long wait to get to see a specialist," said Dr. Fisher.

A portion of this donation will help invest in people, recruiting the best and brightest talent.

It is that connection and investment Bill Gatton saw in Barbara Barnstable Edelman that will allow her family's legacy in diabetes care to live on.

"He trusted me. He believed in what I was trying to do for him, and they wanted to honor me and did it in the most meaningful way somebody could," said Edelman.

Along with recruiting, the donation will help expand research and clinical care at the center and establish more diabetes education and outreach.