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

For Colombian families in the US, Spain, Chile and Canada: a daily WhatsApp check-in in Spanish, the 123 emergency line, the EPS, and a local circle.

By the Athnova Care team · Updated 2026-10-05

Why families abroad worry about parents in Colombia

Colombian families live in Miami, New York, New Jersey, Madrid, Santiago and Toronto, while parents stay in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Pereira or a smaller town. Everyone is on WhatsApp, but a parent who lives alone can still go a day or two without anyone noticing a problem.

A short check-in in Spanish every morning gives you a signal that your parent is well, and a plan for the morning it does not come.

A daily check-in in Spanish, on WhatsApp

Every morning, at the time you choose on their clock, your parent gets one WhatsApp message in Spanish: 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. Our follow-up phone call does not reach Colombia yet, so if the reminder also goes unanswered you are alerted straight away, and then the neighbour or relative you chose is asked to check.

Emergency numbers in Colombia

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
123	National emergency line — ambulance, police, fire

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

Choose two people who can be at the door within an hour — a sibling, a cousin, a neighbour, the portero of the building — and save their WhatsApp numbers in the app.

Write the address in full, the way an ambulance needs it: calle or carrera and number (for example "Calle 45 # 12-30"), apartment, barrio and a landmark. Put it on the emergency card.

Doctors, hospitals and medicines

Check that your parent’s EPS membership is active, whether through the contributory or the subsidised regime, and note which clinic or hospital it assigns them. Write the EPS, the clinic and their doctor on the card.

Ask for medicines and appointments well before they run out: authorisations from the EPS can take time.

The time difference

Colombia is on UTC−5 all year. That is the same time as New York in winter and one hour behind it in summer, and six or seven hours behind Spain — so a morning check-in there arrives in Madrid in the afternoon.

What Athnova Care does and does not do in Colombia

Daily WhatsApp check-in in Spanish or English, with the reply in your app.
An alert to you when they go quiet (the follow-up phone call does not reach Colombia yet).
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 Spanish?

Yes, in Spanish with "usted", as one speaks to an elder. Replies typed in Spanish are understood.

What is the emergency number in Colombia?

123, the national emergency line, for ambulance, police and fire.

Is there a phone call if they do not reply?

The follow-up call does not reach Colombia yet, so if the message and the reminder go unanswered we alert you and your local circle straight away.

Athnova Care tracks and coordinates care. It does not diagnose, prescribe or replace a doctor. In a medical emergency in Colombia call 123.