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

For families in the US, Canada or Spain with a parent in Mexico: a daily WhatsApp check-in in Spanish, 911, a local circle, and what to set up before an emergency.

By the Athnova Care team · Updated 2026-10-02

Why families abroad worry about parents in Mexico

Millions of families are split across the border. The children work in Texas, California, Illinois or Toronto; the parents stay in Jalisco, Michoacán, Puebla or Mexico City. Calls happen on Sundays, and a fall on a Tuesday can go unnoticed until the neighbours mention it.

The fix is not more phone calls. It is a small daily signal that your parent is up and well, and a plan for the day that signal 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 Mexico 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 Mexico

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
911	All emergencies — 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

Name two people who can be at the door within an hour: a sibling, a cousin, a neighbour or a friend from church. Ask them first, save their WhatsApp numbers in the app, and agree that a message from us means "please go and look".

Leave a spare key with one of them, and make sure they know the address details an ambulance needs — colonia, street, number and a landmark.

Doctors, hospitals and medicines

Know which system your parent uses: IMSS or ISSSTE if they are covered through work or a pension, IMSS-Bienestar for people without social security, or a private doctor. Write the clinic and hospital on their emergency card.

Many pharmacies have a doctor’s consulting room next door for quick, low-cost visits. Useful for small problems — but anything that sounds serious should go to an emergency department.

The time difference

Most of Mexico stays on Central Standard Time all year (UTC−6) since it stopped changing the clocks in 2022. From the US the difference is small — the same time as Chicago in winter, an hour behind it in summer — so a morning check-in reaches you in your own morning.

What Athnova Care does and does not do in Mexico

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 Mexico 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. The daily message, its buttons and the reminders are in Spanish, written with "usted", as one speaks to an elder. Replies typed in Spanish are understood.

What is the emergency number in Mexico?

911, for ambulance, police and fire, across the country.

Can I use it if my parent has an old phone without WhatsApp?

The daily phone call works for parents without WhatsApp in the countries our call reaches. Mexico is not one of them yet, so your parent needs WhatsApp there.

Athnova Care tracks and coordinates care. It does not diagnose, prescribe or replace a doctor. In a medical emergency in Mexico call 911.