25 years of experience gained from countless missions.
The story of how Carelink came to be is enough to make this care organization unique.
Following the crash of the Swissair plane off Halifax in 1998, the “Swissair Emergency Care Team” was on the scene for several weeks. Its work was unprecedented. Franz Bucher, who led the team, was subsequently inundated with requests from both Switzerland and abroad. Some sought advice and training, while others needed concrete assistance. This interest led to the idea of establishing Carelink, an independent support organization, on behalf of Swissair.
Official launch in 2001
On August 28, 2001, Carelink was officially launched on the Gurten near Bern—not as a foundation, but as an association. About a month later, on October 2, 2001, Swissair became insolvent. Following its grounding, the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) showed even greater interest: Franz Bucher and his colleague Richard Frei built the organization on their behalf.
As early as November 24, 2001, the experience and network of these two pioneers were urgently needed: a Crossair plane had crashed near Bassersdorf.
In June 2003, the association became a foundation. By then, Carelink had become independent of SBB. However, SBB remains an important partner to this day.
With its official certification as an emergency response and training organization, granted by the National Network for Psychological Emergency Assistance (NNPN), Carelink reached another milestone in 2006.
In 2013, co-founder Richard Frei stepped down due to his age. In 2016, Franz Bucher stepped down as managing director. He handed over operational responsibility to Walter Kälin and joined the board of trustees.
Steady growth
That marked the end of the pioneering era—and Carelink continued to grow steadily, year after year. Today, the volunteer team numbers about 350 people across Switzerland. About 100 of them are certified emergency psychologists.
Since its founding, Carelink has completed countless assignments. Its customer base now includes around 190 companies and organizations. The public sector also relies on Carelink.
Thanks to the volunteers—and thanks to careful planning—Carelink has become what the foundation is today: Switzerland’s leading private-sector organization dedicated to supporting those affected.