A television pilot based on a book by a Chelmsford doctor is being filmed at Heywood Hospital in Gardner this week, according to the hospital.
Filming for the independent “Death’s Door,” based on the book “At Death’s Door: End of Life Stories from the Bedside,” by Dr. Sebastian Sepulveda, a primary care doctor and nephrologist, is taking place in a currently unused acute care unit in Heywood’s Favor building. The Favor building, which is registered with the Massachusetts Film Office, has been underutilized since the 2010 opening of Heywood’s Watkins building, according to Heywood officials.
Sepulveda, the author, is a colleague of Win Brown, CEO of Heywood Healthcare, according to Heywood spokesperson Amanda McFadgen. The doctor and his director, Jack Skyyler, wanted to keep pilot production local and found the Favor building to be a good fit, McFadgen said.
“It is easily accessible, yet secluded enough to allow the production team to do their work with little impact to our patients or our staff. They have also shot scenes in our parking lot and our dining room at off-hours,” she said.
This is a new adventure for Heywood, but it’s also likely the hospital’s one and only film project, as Heywood is constructing an outpatient oncology department in the building this fall. But it’s been a fun experience nonetheless, McFadgen said.
“It has been a fun and interesting project, and we were glad to have this level of production here in North Central Mass.,” she said.
Sepulveda’s book, “At Death’s Door: End of Life Stories from the Bedside,” is the story of his experiences working with patients near the end of their lives, according to its Amazon.com page. A Los Angeles film crew and some experienced actors — including Enrico Colontoni from American Gothic and Veronica Mars and Ellen Holman from the Starz series Spartacus: War of the Damned — are in town to film the inaugural episode of the series. “Death’s Door” has a tentative premiere date of January 2017, according to its IMDB page.
Shooting will wrap up this Friday, July 22, according to Heywood.
