History

In some ways, the history of Family Medical Specialties can be traced all the way back to 1926 when Dr. Frank A. Brewster "Nebraska's famous Flying Doctor" established a medical clinic and constructed a private hospital in Holdrege, Nebraska.

Although the clinic thrived for many years, by the end of the 1970s it had dwindled to a single doctor, Harold A. McConahay. Dr. McConahay was struggling to keep on top of the practice, and made an offer to two young physicians fresh from their residencies to join him.

Dr. Tom Smith and Dr. Bill Sandy, who had been friends in medical school at the University of Iowa, came to Holdrege in the summer of 1980, but almost as soon as they arrived, the Mayo Clinic diagnosed Dr. McConahay with pancreatic cancer and Drs. Smith and Sandy were on their own in their new town. After several months of treatment, Dr. McConahay appeared unlikely to recover and his wife encouraged them to buy and continue to operate the clinic.

With two energetic young doctors at the helm, the practice was reinvigorated, and not long after they convinced another of their Iowa classmates, Dr. Doak Doolittle, a surgeon, to join them. As they continued to grow, they added additional doctors. In the late 1980s, Dr. Charlotte Wirges joined after completing her residency, and soon after they merged the entire practice with one being operated by Drs. Stuart Embury and Robert Anderson. Dr. Scott Ehresman joined the corporation in 1993, Dr. Jeff Berney in 1999 and Dr. Charles "Tuck" Smith in 2004.

In 2008, the Family Medical Specialties group moved from their original offices in downtown Holdrege to a beautiful new facility located near the Phelps Memorial Health Center.