As part of improving the health-care infrastructure of the city of Shiraz, the Iran Foundation spurred the creation of a Nursing School which was to augment the new Medical Center. With the support of Mohamed Nemazee and other leaders of the Foundation, and thanks to dedicated medical professionals trained in the United States, the Nursing School opened alongside Nemazee Hospital in 1953.
The Nursing School was staffed by doctors and nurses representing esteemed American universities like Columbia, Yale, Syracuse, and Howard University. The Nemazee family’s mission involved introducing Western training and treatments to the people of Shiraz, and the Nursing School helped strengthen that bond between east and west.
The Iran Foundation’s literature includes comprehensive details about the structure and organization of the Nursing School:
“As part of the comprehensive Medical Center requirements, a Nursing School and residence with room space for 60 nurses has been provided in conjunction with a hospital… School facilities for the nurses include two classrooms, a dietetics library, a general laboratory and a nursing arts room. The nurses have separate food preparation and dining facilities in the basement.”
Upon its launch, the Nursing School in Shiraz became one of Iran’s leading institutions for the education of medical professionals, and helped cement the city’s reputation as a historic center of learning. The tradition that Mohamed Nemazee helped pull into the 20th century now thrives in the 21st century, as Iranian men and women flock to Shiraz for top-notch modern medical training.
A full account of the Nemazee Nursing School facilities can be found in the contemporaneous Iran Foundation booklet, published in 1955.