In re the Appeal of Lanchester Medical Center Ass'n

Opinion by

Judge Mencer,

At the beginning of this decade, the foresighted and resourceful residents of rural eastern Lancaster County and rustic western Chester County underwent the frightening experience of watching two of their seven local doctors flee to the city in the pursuit of more settled, if not more lucrative, careers. Having in the past been unable to attract additional physicians to service the needs of their neighbors, the few remaining physicians, together with certain community leaders, embarked upon a search for a solution to their physician shortage problem.

*598The citizens of the…