LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- After more than four decades of caring for children, a beloved Louisville pediatrician is hanging up her stethoscope.

Dr. Beverly Gaines took to social media this week to announce that after 40 years she would be closing her practice.

"I am making this decision in the best interest of my health and my family.. and also " I am proud of the legacy of great healthcare we have provided to several generations of families," she wrote.

That's when former patients began sharing their personal stories of how Gaines broke barriers and set an example as their childhood doctor.

Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Jessica Green said she and her siblings can't remember going to a doctor besides Gaines as a kid. Now her children see her, as well. "She's a true servant leader. This community loves her. My family loves her."

Gaines graduated from the University of Louisville Medical school in 1979 and opened her own practice soon after. She sat on many boards like the NAACP and Simmons College. In 2017, a dorm was named in her honor.

"Dr. Gaines has such a legacy of love, commitment sacrifice in our community -- particularly the African American community. There's not many. I don't think African American families in our community that she and her office did not touch," said Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Jessica Green.

Dr. Christine Cosby Gaither agrees. "She's always been a champion for especially Black children. I mean everyone I know of that I can think of was a patient of Dr. Gaines. My brother, my husband, my friends -- we were all patients of Dr. Gaines."

Dr. Beverly Gaines took to social media this week to announce that after 40 years she would be closing her practice.

In 2021, Gaines gained recognition as one of the first doctor to administer the COVID vaccine to children.

Gaither said she was a role model. "There were so many times when we did not see a lot of Black doctors growing up, so she showed us something. She's proved to us that, hey, if we want to do this, we could do it ,because she's done it."

Gaines wrote in her post that she's proud of the legacy of great healthcare provided to several generations of Louisville families. 

"It has been my passion and pleasure to fulfill my life’s dream so many years ago. It has truly been a privilege bestowed upon us by parents in allowing us to care for your children, a responsibility we have never taken lightly," she wrote. 

Gaines is no longer seeing patients, but her office is staying open in the interim to help families find new doctors. 

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