Dr. Bill Davis made national headlines back in 2000, when he nearly quit working as a physician because of mounting bureaucracy and frustration with HMOs. When the news broke in Winters, the community rallied around him.
He received the "Heroes in Healthcare" award from Patch Adams at a national banquet.

The result was the Winters Healthcare Foundation (WHF)- a nonprofit health-care foundation owned by the community. Articles showed up in publications like the LA Times, People Magazine and Time Magazine - all celebrating Davis as a small-town hero and the characterizing the practice as a model for small town medicine.

"It's just a real loss to the community," said Joe Martinez, who helped secure WHF's nonprofit status, "I don't know what else to say."
Source: Davis, CA Patch

I haven't talked to my cousin or anyone directly involved in that turn of events about the details, but from what I know it is similar to a typical startup which grows and and creates a management hierarchy, which discards the founders mission e.g. "effectiveness" for traditional business goals "efficiency".
Unfortunately, founders of a nonprofit service business don't walk away with a pot of money.

We have talked recently about some of the differences in my yearly exams in New Jersey before I moved back to California and what I get here. They always gave me EKGs, lung capacity tests, which I don't get here. Bill said he only did those tests if there was some reason to believe they might detect an underlying condition. Physicians do them because they they are more profitable. Medicare renumeration for a basic check-up don't cover the physicians basic costs, office overhead, insurance, medical record maintenance, etc.

Links:
See problems with being a physician today.
How to Fix the Hot Mess of U.S. Healthcare (Ep. 456) - Freakonomics Freakonomics Founding Doctor Leaves Winters Health Care - Davis, CA Patch