Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Gwinnett Medical Center - Duluth Meets Hollywood


Duluth, GA – Gwinnett Medical Center – Duluth was transformed into Falmouth Medical Center for a Hollywood film this spring starring Owen Wilson and Jenna Fischer. Directed by the Farrelly brothers, 'Hall Pass', was one of two major Hollywood films that took place on the campuses of Gwinnett Medical Center in the last six months. ('Due Date', directed by Todd Phillips and starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr was filmed at Gwinnett Medical Center – Lawrenceville last fall)

At GMC's flagship campus in Lawrenceville, a patient room has been named after Warner Brothers for their donation to the hospital system.

"With the influx of filmmakers coming to Georgia over the last few years, GMC is enthusiastic about the opportunity to share our location and be a part of the rapidly growing business entertainment industry," said Andrea Wehrmann, hospital spokesperson.

Filmmakers have a 30 percent tax incentive to produce their work in Georgia, Senator Mitch Seabaugh, who led the effort in passing the tax incentive, has stated several times that the Governor has never seen a more thankful and appreciative industry group, so the support statewide is evident.

"Patients, visitors, physicians and staff all enjoyed getting the "behind the scenes" look of how a scene is filmed for a movie," said Lea Bay, administrator for GMC-Duluth."The film crew was great to work with and made it their priority to make sure the set up and filming did not negatively impact our primary mission here at GMC-Duluth which is high quality patient care."

"We looked at a many locations and decided on Gwinnett Medical Center - Duluth for its great look and the willingness to allow us to film under very careful and very cooperative guidelines," said Maida Morgan, location manager for Warner Brothers. "The staff's enthusiastic understanding and cooperation in guiding us through our work on the Duluth campus made for the ease of filming that the 'Hall Pass' crew experienced."

GMC's mission is to transform healthcare and provide the highest quality of care to treat our patients and serve the community. Anytime a major motion film comes to campus, specific safety protocols and HIPAA requirements must be followed to protect the patients and their families.

About Gwinnett Medical Center
Gwinnett Medical Center is a not-for-profit healthcare network providing award-winning healthcare services to the Gwinnett community and beyond. Campuses in both Duluth and Lawrenceville provide acute care, outpatient services, orthopedic and neuroscience specialty care as well as a full continuum of wellness services. Digital imaging is the standard of care at all GMC facilities including the newest imaging center in north Gwinnett's Hamilton Mill area. In 2009, GMC's 4,300 associates and 800 physicians served more than 400,000 patients. Gwinnett Medical Center's incredible vision for the future is to transform healthcare. To learn more, visit http://www.gwinnettmedicalcenter.org/.