EXCLUSIVE
Two years ago, at a December board meeting about the fate of the Motion Picture and Television Fund's (MPTF) long-term care facility and hospital, only one trustee objected to the controversial decision to shutter the services, according to the minutes of that meeting obtained by TheWrap.
In standing alone that day, Walter Seltzer said that the board had an obligation to keep the facility open as part of the fund's organizational mission.
"There were many, many different approaches that would have been better than the decision we took," Seltzer told TheWrap this week.
But Seltzer's protests were overpowered by the arguments of Dr. David Tillman, then CEO of the MPTF, and Jeffrey Katzenberg, the MPTF's chief fundraiser. Tillman said the over 70-year-old service must end, because of the fund's $20 million budget shortfall and a worsening economy, the minutes say.
At that same meeting, Tillman rejected the idea of launching a fundraising drive to save the hospital, arguing that it would be difficult to attract donors for a program that was neither "future oriented" nor "sustainable."
The push to close the facility has resulted in a heated standoff between the fund's administration and a grassroots organization called Saving the Lives of Our Own. It also led to the ouster of Tillman as head of the organization last February.
In a bit of dramatic irony, Tillman is gone, but there are still 55 people living at the facility today. This despite the fact that the board was told at that December meeting that relocating the over 100 long-term care residents could be accomplished in roughly 60 days.
With minimal objections, the over 25 trustees attending the December 18 meeting embraced Tillman's argument, so concerned were they that its continued operation would permanently strain the other services the MPTF provides. At the end of the meeting they would vote unanimously to approve an October decision by the organization's corporate board to close the facility.
That one notable exception, Seltzer, a producer of "Soylent Green" and "The Omega Man," cited his personal experiences. Seltzer recounted a story of how having a doctor and hospital nearby helped when his wife, who was then living on the Wasserman Campus, had a medical issue in the middle of the night.
Seltzer recused himself from voting on the resolution to close the facillity that day, "out of emotion," he told TheWrap on Wednesday.
Seltzer, who continues to serve on the board, said he was surprised that no other trustees raised concerns .
"I don't think they fully understand the implications of what was happening," Seltzer said.
Board member Irma Kalish, who did attend that meeting, would resign shortly thereafter, according to another knowledgeable individual.
Even with celebrities such as George Clooney and Screen Actors Guild President Ken Howard raising the possibility that funds could be raised to keep the hospital open, Seltzer said he doubts the board will back down from its 2008 decision.
