Checking on elderly parents in the Dominican Republic from abroad

For Dominican families in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida and Spain: a daily WhatsApp check-in in Spanish, 911, SENASA or the ARS, and a local circle.

By the Athnova Care team · Updated 2026-10-06

Why families abroad worry about parents in the Dominican Republic

Dominican families live in Washington Heights and the Bronx, Paterson, Lawrence, Providence, Orlando, Puerto Rico and Madrid, while parents stay in Santo Domingo, Santiago, San Francisco de Macorís, La Romana or a town in the Cibao. Everyone talks on WhatsApp, but a parent who lives alone can still have a bad day that nobody hears about until Sunday’s call.

A short message in Spanish every morning gives you a daily sign 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 the Dominican Republic 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 the Dominican Republic

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	National emergency system — 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 reach the door quickly — a sibling, a cousin, a neighbour, someone from church or the colmado on the corner — and save their WhatsApp numbers in the app. Agree that a message from us means "please go and look".

Write the address the way an ambulance or a motoconcho needs it: sector, street, house number and a reference ("frente a la escuela", "al lado del colmado"). Put it on the emergency card.

Doctors, hospitals and medicines

Find out which ARS covers your parent — SENASA for many retirees and people in the subsidised regime, or a private ARS — and which clinic or hospital it sends them to. Write the ARS, the card number and their doctor on the emergency card.

Keep a photo of each prescription in the app, so a sibling or the doctor can see what your parent takes when the box is not at hand.

The time difference

The Dominican Republic is on Atlantic Standard Time (UTC−4) all year. That is the same time as New York in summer and one hour ahead of it in winter, so a morning check-in there arrives in your own morning.

What Athnova Care does and does not do in the Dominican Republic

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 the Dominican Republic 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 the Dominican Republic?

911, the national emergency system, for ambulance, police and fire.

Is there a phone call if they do not reply?

The follow-up call does not reach the Dominican Republic 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 the Dominican Republic call 911.