We built this because the old way is broken
Swiss healthcare staffing has been stuck in the same agency model for decades. Ward coordinators spend hours on phone trees. Nurses lose 20 percent of their earnings to intermediaries. We are changing that.
Why we built Carewell
Switzerland has one of the highest nurse-to-patient ratios in Europe and one of the most expensive healthcare staffing systems. The cost is not in the nurses. It is in the intermediary layer: staffing agencies that sit between clinics and freelance nurses, charging 18 to 25 percent above nurse rates to do work that a well-designed platform can do in seconds.
We started Carewell after spending time inside ward coordinator offices in Zurich and Basel. We saw the same pattern everywhere: a whiteboard with gaps, a coordinator on the phone at 7am calling the same contact list she had been calling for years, and agency invoices that made the finance department wince. Meanwhile freelance nurses were taking home 20 percent less than what clinics were actually paying.
The fix is not complicated. It is a two-sided matching platform with real credential verification, real-time availability, and pricing that puts money where it belongs: in the nurses' hands and in better ward coverage for patients. That is what Carewell is.
Built by people who understand both sides
Lena spent a decade in Swiss healthcare administration, building workforce scheduling tools for hospital networks and working directly with ward managers across the German-speaking cantons. She watched the agency billing problem from the inside before deciding to build the alternative.
Markus spent years building distributed-systems and matching-algorithm infrastructure for labor marketplace platforms in service industries before joining Lena to design Carewell's matching engine and real-time availability stack.
Sophie built her career in nurse recruitment and clinical relationship management, working with Swiss hospital groups and nursing schools. She leads clinic onboarding and manages the partnerships that shape how the platform serves both sides of the market.
Principles that shape the platform
Transparency over opacity
Every rate, every commission, every credential check is visible. We do not hide fees in markup or obscure what clinics and nurses are paying or earning from each other.
Both sides matter equally
Carewell only works if clinics can fill gaps reliably and nurses can find good shifts fairly. We do not optimise for one side at the expense of the other.
Credential standards are non-negotiable
Healthcare is not a context where "good enough" verification is acceptable. Every nurse on the platform has credentials checked against official Swiss registries before their first shift is posted.
Efficient by design
The agency layer in healthcare staffing is not adding value at its current cost. We believe that removing that friction and returning the savings to nurses and clinics is a better outcome for Swiss healthcare overall.
Be part of how Swiss staffing changes
Whether you manage ward staffing or you work as a freelance nurse, the platform is built for you.