While movies and TV shows have sporadically used hospitals across the country as filming locations, one hospital operator is now taking a more structured approach to generate revenue, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
From classics like "The Fugitive" and "Steel Magnolias" to recent series such as FX's "The Bear," many series and films have called for hospitals used as the backdrop for their stories. When health systems accommodate filming requests, they charge production companies filming fees while ensuring adherence to house guidelines and patient confidentiality protocols. These arrangements are often sporadic, with film crews moving in and out episodically.
In an interesting move, Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare is repurposing the unoccupied floors at its Suburban Community Hospital in Norristown, Pa., and its sister facility, Lower Bucks Hospital in Bristol, Pa., to function as film sets. The investor-owned hospital operator is renting the property to HBO and Apple TV+ for movie and miniseries filmings, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
A spokesperson for Lower Bucks Hospital told the local news outlet that Prime hospitals charge $2,000 to $4,000 per day to small, independent film companies, while a movie or TV show with an extended time frame or more than 20 crew members pays $12,000 to $16,000 a day. The hospital will also hold equipment for crews on non-filming days for a daily charge of $5,000 to $6,500.
Prime announced the downsizing of its Suburban Hospital into a 60-bed microhospital this year. The third and fourth floors of Suburban Hospital have been vacant for years, with the third floor once housing the hospital's maternity ward and the fourth containing its acute patient rehabilitation unit. Last year, the hospital closed its 15-bed psychiatric unit for seniors on the first floor, citing low demand and challenges retaining qualified behavioral health providers.
Rudi Fischer, a location scout, told the Inquirer that the hospital has been an ideal shooting location because of its efficiency with existing equipment and scenery details. He said he dreams of one day using the hospital to film an ongoing medical drama, like NBC's "ER," which ran from 1994 to 2009.
Read the Inquirer's reporting on the filming at Prime's Pennsylvania hospitals here.