Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center (2024)

More than 440,000 adults in Kentucky have diabetes. That’s 12.9 percent of the commonwealth’s population of people ages 18 and older. Only six other states have a higher diabetes prevalence rate. More than 280,000 people, or 10% of Kentucky adults, have been diagnosed with prediabetes, but many more people may be unaware that they have it, as only 60% of adults undergo a diabetes or prediabetes screening.

“As the burden of diabetes in Kentucky continues to grow, the UK Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center is pushing forward to improve diabetes prevention, quality of life and health outcomes,” said John Fowlkes, MD, director of the center and a pediatric endocrinologist.

The Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center is located in a 20,000-square-foot clinic space at UK HealthCare - Turfland location in Lexington. In addition to being home to the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center, UK HealthCare - Turfland houses a variety of services that are important to the management and treatment of diabetes and related conditions, including a pharmacy, a laboratory, radiology services, including ultrasound, and ophthalmology and optometry services. Having so many capabilities under one roof allows our team of experts to care for patients ranging from infants to seniors in a seamless, coordinated fashion.

Our team includes:

• Physicians and advanced practice providers at an adult clinic and a pediatric clinic, as well as nurses and a certified social worker at the pediatric clinic
• Dedicated inpatient and outpatient diabetes care and education specialists

We provide consultations with expert diabetes specialists, coordination of care for diabetes complications, screening and management, and comprehensive patient education.

We provide:

• Care for all types of diabetes
• Care for diabetes complications

The Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center was established in 2008 by twin sisters Patricia Barnstable Brown and Priscilla Barnstable along with their mother, Wilma. Together, they pledged the initial funding to support the center in memory of Patricia Barnstable Brown’s husband, David, who passed away in 2003 from complications of diabetes.

Through fundraising events such as the family’s annual Derby Eve Gala, which attracts celebrities from around the world to the Barnstable Brown family home in Louisville, the family has donated nearly $16 million for research and patient care at the diabetes and endocrinology center.

“Thanks to the generosity and vision of the Barnstable Brown family, patients with diabetes in Kentucky are receiving the highest level of patient care and benefiting from innovative research that impacts treatment and understanding of the disease,” UK President Eli Capilouto said at the clinic opening in October 2017.

“The support from the Barnstable Brown Family has enabled us to recruit talented physicians, physician-scientists and specialized staff dedicated to the care of patients and their families,” said Mark F. Newman, MD, UK executive vice president for health affairs. “Having a center where clinical care, research and education come together for the benefit of patients now and in the future is a tremendous asset and resource for everyone in Kentucky and beyond.”

For more information about programs and services available at UK Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center, call 859-323-BBDC (2232). Select option 1 for the adult clinic; option 2 for the pediatric clinic; or option 3 for diabetes education services.