Italian Mayor Urges Residents To Not Do Anything That Needs A Doctor

There's A Crisis Brewing Pretty Much Everywhere 

Familiar Story: Rural Community, Lots of Elders, No Full-Time Medical Services 

... In Italy 

An Italian town of 1,300 residents – half of them elderly – is facing the same types of medical response problems we have in the Copper Valley. 

Like us, they do not have round-the-clock medical care. Though they apparently do have at least one part-time doctor. 

As a result, the mayor wants to "order" people to not hurt themselves or get sick, because they'll get no immediate assistance. He says he's kind of kidding – but actually, not so much. 

The story is familiar. 

Google map of 28 mile route from Italian town of Belcastro to nearest full-time medical care. 

On January 9th, 2025, CNN wrote that the little Italian town "has a health center that is often closed, and on-call doctors are not available on weekends, holidays or after hours." 

The mayor of Belcastro said the emergency room is 28 miles away (or 44 kilometers) in another town. He thinks that's way too far away for safety. And that the roads are bad. 

(By comparison, of course, many people live at least 28 miles from the clinics in the Copper Valley, and don't consider it that far. For Copper Valley residents, the problem is that Mat-Su Regional is almost 140 miles away from Glennallen – through the mountains.)

The mayor said it's hard to "feel safe when you know that if you need assistance, your only hope is to make it to [emergency care] on time" - and that the roads were almost "more of a risk than any illness".

He's told the people there to not "engage in behaviors that may be harmful," to "avoid domestic accidents." 

Google map of 137.5 mile route from Glennallen to Palmer's full time medical care.