Hospital competition is good

Your reports on LGH have been informative and enlightening. They are obviously well researched, and your expert very adept at evaluation.

While it is certainly a plus for Lancaster to have a premier hospital of the caliber of Lancaster General, it is not a good thing to drive the other Lancaster hospitals out of business. Competition is a good thing. Having a competitor keeps an institution striving to do its best.

And choice is a good thing. Today's patients are really pretty well- informed consumers. When Lancaster Regional was still St. Joseph's Hospital, there were many
Lancastrians who would never even consider going anywhere else for their care. They liked the smaller, quieter surroundings and the
more personal attention.

If your expert is correct, and the Heart of Lancaster hospitals do cease operations, Lancaster will be the poorer for it -- even if LGH is all the richer.