Elderly Home Care in Neirone

In Neirone , a small Ligurian village in the Fontanabuona Valley, behind Chiavari, a unique project in Italy provides the best possible care, including preventative measures, for all 350 people over 65 in the area. They receive home care from a local network that includes family doctors from across the valley, three nurses, a pharmacist, and even a social worker. But it's not just home visits and guaranteed care: thanks to telemedicine and digital records, everyone receives ongoing support, primarily with the goal of effective prevention.

The Ligurian experiment, dubbed " Neirone in salute ," is a unique example that combines many advantages and benefits, simultaneously treating and assisting people at risk of abandonment and reducing public healthcare costs and waste. The small Ligurian village has been depopulating for several years (its population has fallen to fewer than a thousand), partly because, with a very elderly population, the lack of services becomes crucial and pushes people to abandon the area: the nearest emergency room is 40 kilometers away. Secondly, thanks to monitoring and remote assistance, everyone (even those without the means, perhaps even a car or a driver's license) is offered the opportunity to receive effective treatment. This reduces hospitalizations throughout the region, avoiding unnecessary ones. Patients who remain at home and receive good care represent the best solution for those requiring treatment and for hospitals, which often struggle with overcrowding and limited capacity. In this way, hospitalizations are reduced to the essential and are carried out when they are truly indispensable.

In Neirone, home care is combined with a solid social network ( the parish priest also participates in the project ) and with healthcare services that are guaranteed on a permanent basis, making use of all available spaces, starting with a "Health Point," a small operations center in a space made available by the municipality, and a camper where, by appointment, diagnostic tests, vaccinations, ultrasounds and even pregnancy monitoring can be done.

“Neirone in salute” was made possible by a broad-based collaboration: the project is led by the Liguria Local Health Authority (ASL 4) and its general director Paolo Pietralia, with the support of the Ligurian village's municipal administration , and with the partnership of La Sapienza University of Rome for the scientific aspects, and the Italian Federation of Healthcare Companies and Hospitals (FIASO) for the operational aspects of assistance in the area.

The project launched in April 2025 and has since achieved significant results . According to initial data presented in October 2025, 264 of the 345 residents in the area have joined the initiative, representing 77 percent of the target population. Of these, 127 are men and 137 are women, with an average age of 76,8 years.

Over the course of the months of the trial, participants received individualized assessment plans designed to meet their needs and pathologies, developed by medical staff through comprehensive screenings, interviews, and tests.

The project also included other initiatives such as "Walk for Health," held twice a week and open to all residents regardless of age; Adapted Physical Activity with a graduate in Sports Science; meetings with Social Workers; and the "Caregiver" project, which will launch in 2026 to create a support group for those who provide home care to dependents.

These important results demonstrate how healthcare can truly be close to its citizens, especially those living in remote and disadvantaged areas. An innovative model that combines proximity, prevention, and technology. The goal is now to extend this model to all small-to-medium municipalities.

Neirone: the small Ligurian village where all the elderly are cared for at home

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