TEHRAN- Shahid Beheshti Hospital, the first modern health center built in the northwestern Zanjan province, has undergone some urgent rehabilitation works, provincial tourism chief has announced. 

The hospital, which was built in 1937 during the First Pahlavi period (1925-1941), was known as Shahnaz Hospital at the time.

The hospital building is not suitable for providing medical services anymore and immediate restoration is needed, Amir Arjmand said on Sunday. 

The project, which is being carried out in collaboration with Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, involves the removal of extensions and repairing the brick facade and gable roof, the official added. 

Back in June, the official announced that the hospital is planned to be turned into a health museum. 

Having a health museum can help people to get acquainted with the province’s medical history and difficulties and problems the hospital staff was facing at the time, he explained.

The museum is planned to display old medical equipment such as old dental instruments, old CT scans and radiology devices, and old injection equipment.

Zanjan is one of the cities founded by Sassanid King Ardashir I (180-242 CE). The province makes a base for wider explorations with the architectural wonder of Soltaniyeh, the subterranean delights of the Katale-Khor caves, colorful mountains, and the UNESCO-registered Takht-e Soleiman ruins are nearby.

In late January, Zanjan was designated as a “world city of filigree” by the World Crafts Council after the WCC assessors visited various craft workshops, stores, exhibits, and bazaars of a city in a two-day itinerary last December.

Filigree consists of curling, twisting, or plaiting fine, pliable metal threads and soldering them at their points of contact with each other with a metal groundwork.

ABU/AFM