In 2007 a corpus of Yelabuga's local hospital dating from 1881 was turned into a museum dedicated to healthcare in a provincial city from the 18th to 20th centuries. The interiors of a healers' houses, a chemist, a consultancy room, a modern operating theatre and a herbal tearoom have been recreated inside. The museum has also recreated the study of the Russian neurologist Vladimir Bekhterev, to whom the museum is also dedicated.

Bekhterev was born in the Yelabugsky District in 1857 in the village now known as Bekterevo in his honour. Bekhterev conducted much research into the working of the brain and psychology, which brought him into competition with Ivan Pavlov who was also working in this field at the same time. Bekhterev died in Moscow in 1927 shortly after a consultation with Stalin, which lead to rumours that Stalin had him killed, after being displeased with his diagnosis. However no link has ever been proved. Just outside the museum is a statue of Bekhterev sat on a bench reading a book. The museum is run as part of the Yelabuga State Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve.