Continuity mistake: As Doc is driving out of town near the end, he stops to help Mary, who is having a difficult birth inside the family station wagon. Doc backs up and parks his car, the front-end is partially across road. While he assists with the birth, a large truck is fast-approaching, only Doc's car is now sitting all the way across the road when it gets hit.
Continuity mistake: When Doc Hollywood first enters the room to save Dr. Hogue, the doctor has both hands on the table. The camera angle changes to a front view and Dr.Hogue now has one hand on his chest and one on the table.
Continuity mistake: In the scene at the diner, where the Mayor and the City Council are trying to talk Michael J. Fox into becoming the town's replacement doctor, watch for the disappearing/reappearing ketchup bottle as the camera angle changes. Several other items on the table move around as well.
Answer: That's just the long-standing relationship they had with Doc Hogue and assumed it would continue with Dr. Stone. Hogue was more than a doctor to the town folk. He was a strong father-figure that everyone felt they could go to for a variety of reasons. Also, this is a comedy film, so the characters and their situations are deliberately cliched and quirky.
raywest ★