Berney Selected as President’s Priceless Pick

PCDC Board President Jared Engelbert selected a local doctor who delivered his 1,000th baby this year as the President’s Priceless Pick award winner for 2026.

Dr. Jeff Berney has served patients in Holdrege and the surrounding areas as a family practice physician at Family Medical Specialties for more than 25 years. He has been involved in the community on various boards, including the original board of the YMCA of the Prairie, and has served as a mentor to many medical students throughout his career.

“Dr. Berney delivering his 1,000th baby this year made me think about how many lives he’s touched and the enormous contributions he’s made to our community,” Engelbert said. “He leads from the front lines. Phelps County has benefited greatly from Dr. Berney’s outstanding talent and his relentless work ethic.”

Dr. Berney delivered three of Jared’s four children at Phelps Memorial Health Center.  Engelbert said that when he and his wife, McKenzie,  moved to Holdrege, Dr. Berney made them “feel 100 percent confident they were in the right place.”

“To be a great community, you must have great doctors,” Engelbert said. “Dr. Berney is a great doctor. He wants his teammates to be successful, and he celebrates his peers’ accomplishments. He wants Phelps Memorial Health Center, Family Medical Specialties, and all of the Phelps County providers to be the best they can possibly be. He wants his patients to succeed. He wants Phelps County to succeed.”

Dr. Berney said he was “humbled and honored” to receive this award.  

He said he always felt it was important to give back, and practicing medicine was his way of doing so.

He thanked PCDC and Jared for the award, and his wife and family for supporting his work as a doctor, even when it wasn’t always convenient for family life. He also thanked his colleagues and the community for trusting him with their medical care.

“It’s a great community to practice medicine and to raise my family in,” he said.