In 1924, a charity healthcare facility, Behboudestan-e Nemazee, was founded by Mr. Mohammad Hassan Nemazee and headed by Dr. Karim Hedayat. When the beneficent passed away, the institution faced financial difficulties and a shortage of staff; consequently, it was closed in 1932. Then, in 1935, owing to Dr. Zabihollah Ghorban’s endeavors, Behboudestan-e Nemazee resumed its activities and later changed to an outpatient clinic (day hospital) which was known as Clinic No.1 and was supervised by Shiraz Municipality.
After Mr. Nemazee, his son, Mohammad Nemazee, devoted a considerable portion of his wealth to charitable affairs, including a charitable foundation in Washington (1949), the establishment of Shiraz Water supply system (1952), Advanced Institute of Nursing (1953), Nemazee Orphanage, and Nemazee Vocational School in Shiraz. In 1944, he decided to buy a 25-bed world-war II prefabricated hospital so as to found Nemazee Hospital in Shiraz. Consulting with Dr. Torab Mehra and with his financial support, the project grew into a 250-bed hospital.
Mohammad Nemazee, in addition, had bought a 25-hectare garden, known as Ahmadiyeh Garden, and then built a 7500-square-meter hospital as well as accommodation for the hospital’s physicians and staff in the garden. In 1954, Mr. Nemazee officially apportioned all the income generated from Shiraz Water Supply System including wells, devices, assets, and buildings to the management and administration of Nemazee Hospital.
In 1955, Nemazee Hospital inaugurated its activities as a referral medical facility in southern Iran and the Middle East. It is estimated that during the first years since the inception of the hospital, approximately 20% to 25% of the patients were referred from Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar as well as Africa.
In pursuit of its commitment to the health and well-being of human beings, Nemazee Hospital has constantly been endeavoring to offer state-of-the-art services and provide advanced healthcare facilities. The first surgical operation at the hospital was performed by Dr. Allen O. Whipple, who was the first to introduce the surgical procedure of pancreatoduodenectomy, in the1930’s. By 1959, Iranian staff and physicians contain the great majority of the hospital’s personnel. Dr. Mohsen Ziyaee (pediatrician), Dr. Atalla Lotfi (anesthesiologist), Dr. Jalil Farah (radiologist), Dr. Rashid Masoomi (cardiologist), Dr. Rahim Dehghan (general surgeon), Dr. Khalil Alavi (otolaryngologist), and Dr. Ahmad Riyazi (pathologist) were among the first physicians who joined the hospital. Moreover, Nemazee Hospital was the first hospital in Iran where organ transplantation was conducted. Currently, it is the main liver and pancreas transplantation center in the region. Liver, heart, kidney, pancreas, and bone marrow transplantations are among the plethora of surgeries performed at the hospital.
Nemazee Hospital also owns the largest and most advanced Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Therapy Center in the region. This hospital was incorporated into Shiraz University in 1964 so as to benefit from government subsidies. It is now active as a general teaching hospital affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS) with approximately 914 beds. The hospital, moreover, is well-known for its research efforts especially microbiological and vascular surgery research activities conducted at Prof. Alborzi Clinical Microbiology Research Center and Vascular Surgery Research Center, respectively. Owing to the constant efforts of SUMS researchers at the hospital and faculty members’ expertise in training and educating students within the hospital’s educational departments, Nemazee Hospital is considered the most eminent and advanced research and teaching facility in Iran.
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