How to check on elderly parents in Italy when you live abroad

For Italians abroad with a parent at home: a daily WhatsApp check-in in Italian, 112 and 118, a local circle, and what to set up before an emergency.

By the Athnova Care team · Updated 2026-10-13

Why families abroad worry about parents in Italy

About six million Italian citizens are registered as living abroad, and many more young Italians have moved to the north of the country for work. Their parents stay in the south, on the islands and in small towns — and Italy has one of the oldest populations in Europe.

A short daily check-in tells you your parent is up and well, and makes sure someone acts on the day they do not answer.

A daily check-in in Italian, on WhatsApp

Every morning, at the time you choose on their clock, your parent gets one WhatsApp message in Italian: did they take their morning medicines? They tap a button — "yes", "not yet" or "please call me" — and you see the answer in the family app.

Nothing to install and no password: the message arrives on the WhatsApp they already use, from a contact called Athnova Care. They can also send a photo of a blood-pressure reading, a prescription or a report at any time.

If the morning message is not answered, a reminder follows about three hours later, then a phone call in their language. If the calls go unanswered too, you are alerted, and then the neighbour or relative you chose is asked to check. The call reaches Italy today.

Emergency numbers in Italy

Save these in your own phone and in your parent's, and on the fridge. Messages from Athnova Care quote this number when your parent says they are unwell, and so does their emergency card.

Number	What it is for
112	European emergency number — in many regions it now answers for ambulance, police and fire
118	Ambulance (emergenza sanitaria) — still works everywhere
113	State police

We are not an emergency service. In an emergency, your parent or the person with them should call the local number first.

Build a local circle before you need it

Agree a circle of two or three people near the house: a neighbour on the same landing, a cousin, a friend from the parish or the bar where your parent has a coffee. Save their numbers in the app so they are asked to look in if your parent goes quiet.

If a badante (live-in carer) or a cleaner comes regularly, add their number too — they are often the first to notice that something is wrong.

Doctors, hospitals and medicines

The medico di base (family doctor) of the national health service is the first point of contact; write the doctor’s name and number on the emergency card, with the number of the tessera sanitaria (health card). At night and at weekends the guardia medica covers problems that are not emergencies.

Put the nearest hospital with a pronto soccorso (emergency department) on the card too.

The time difference

Italy is on Central European Time (UTC+1), and on summer time (UTC+2) from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. A morning check-in in Italy reaches London an hour earlier by the clock, and New York in the middle of the night.

What Athnova Care does and does not do in Italy

Daily WhatsApp check-in in Italian or English, with the reply in your app.
A phone call in Italian when they go quiet.
Alerts to the whole family, then to the neighbour or relative you chose.
An emergency card with their address, medicines, allergies, doctor and contacts, ready to share with a hospital.
Medicine reminders, readings and reports kept in one place for the doctor.
Not offered there: lab tests and medicine refills, which we arrange in India only.

Questions families ask

Is the check-in in Italian?

Yes. The daily message, its buttons and the reminder are in Italian, written with "Lei" and worded to suit a mother or a father. Replies typed in Italian are understood.

What is the emergency number in Italy?

112, the European emergency number, which in many regions now answers for every service. 118 still reaches the ambulance service everywhere.

Does it replace a badante?

No. A badante is someone in the house; the check-in is a daily signal from a distance that notices when something is wrong and tells the people who can act. Many families have both.

Is there a phone call if they do not reply?

Yes. If the WhatsApp message goes unanswered, the reminder is followed by a phone call in Italian.

Athnova Care tracks and coordinates care. It does not diagnose, prescribe or replace a doctor. In a medical emergency in Italy call 112.