SWALLOWS

What SWALLOWS does

AVALEMS — Association valaisanne des EMS — is the umbrella professional association representing all 55 nursing homes (Établissements Médico-Sociaux, EMS) in the Swiss canton of Valais. Headquartered in Sion, the association acts as a collective advocacy body for its member institutions, which together operate 3,527 long-term care beds, employ 6,426 staff, and train 397 apprentices. Its core offerings to members include sector representation to cantonal and federal authorities, the QUALIVISTA quality certification framework (mandatory across all Valais EMS), continuing-education coordination via the [email protected] channel, annual interprofessional symposiums, and thematic resource dossiers on interRAI assessments, oral health, medication management, sociocultural animation, and spirituality. AVALEMS also operates the AVALEMS Prize and an active 2024–2028 strategy covering image, working conditions, and skills development.

AVALEMS does not sell a proprietary technology product; its website (avalems.ch) functions as a member resource portal rather than a software platform, and no API, SDK, integrations, or AI capabilities are present. There are no patents, trademarks, or app products under the AVALEMS or QUALIVISTA brands beyond the quality framework itself. The association holds a collective seat in ARTISET (the national federation of social/healthcare service providers) and works alongside Curaviva, OdASanté, HES-SO Valais, and the Cantonal Health Authority.

Commercially, AVALEMS is structured as a non-profit association funded primarily through membership fees from its 55 EMS institutions, supplemented by participation in cantonal healthcare financing systems regulated by federal LAMal and cantonal law. Revenue mechanics therefore follow a subscription/recurring association-dues model rather than product or transaction pricing. The underlying member EMS operations — not AVALEMS itself — were calculated by the association to generate an annual net economic contribution of 260 million CHF to the Valais economy in 2020. The customer base is exclusively the 55 institutional members; end users are elderly residents requiring geriatric, palliative, day, short-stay, or protected-housing services.

Name

SWALLOWS

Legal name

AVALEMS - Association valaisanne des EMS

Website

https://avalems.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

AVALEMS is the umbrella association representing all 55 nursing homes in the Swiss canton of Valais, providing advocacy, professional training, and the QUALIVISTA quality certification for member institutions serving elderly residents across 3,527 beds.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sion

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: As an association of Valais nursing homes, AVALEMS generates revenue through membership fees from its 55 member EMS institutions. The association also participates in cantonal healthcare financing systems regulated by federal (LAMal for care) and cantonal laws.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SWALLOWS (AVALEMS - Association valaisanne des EMS) is the umbrella association of all 55 medical-social nursing homes (EMS) in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It delivers collective advocacy, professional training, quality certification frameworks (QUALIVISTA), and coordination services to its member institutions, which collectively operate 3,527 beds and employ 6,426 people. The association also provides resources to elderly residents, families, and healthcare professionals working in long-term care.

Product overview

SWALLOWS is referenced in the source data as a company; however, all provided source material pertains exclusively to AVALEMS (Association Valaisanne des EMS), a professional association representing 55 nursing homes (EMS/établissements médico-sociaux) in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. AVALEMS provides advocacy, professional resources, training, and coordination services for its member institutions rather than a technology product offering. No distinct product, module, or named service branded under SWALLOWS was identified in the source data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• QUALIVISTA: Quality certification system for Valais EMS facilities, required for all homes in the canton.

Products and services

• QUALIVISTA Quality Certification
• Professional Development and Continuing Education
• Pharmaceutical Care Program
• Interprofessional Symposiums
• Social Consultation Services
• Ethics Council (Conseil d'éthique)

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ARTISETcoreOthersAVALEMS is a collective member of ARTISET, the federation of service providers for people requiring support. ARTISET represents the social and healthcare sector employers' organization at the national level.
• CuravivacoreOthersNational association of Swiss homes for the elderly and people requiring care. Curaviva represents institutions and promotes quality in elder care across Switzerland.
• SSO Wallis (Swiss Dental Society - Valais Section)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the Valais solution for oral health in nursing homes. SSO Wallis assigns a reference dentist to each EMS and collaborates on dental care guidelines.
• Swiss Dental HygienistscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for oral healthcare training and protocols in Valais nursing homes as part of the oral health initiative developed with SSO.
• PharmavalaiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on pharmaceutical care programs for Valais nursing homes since 2008. Developed joint pharmaceutical care program supported by the cantonal health authority, implemented canton-wide from 2022.
• HES-SO Wallis/Valais - Hochschule für GesundheitcoreOthersUniversity of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland - Valais campus providing health education. Partner for continuing education and professional development programs.
• HES-SO Wallis/Valais - Hochschule für Soziale ArbeitcoreOthersUniversity of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland - Valais campus for social work. Partner for bachelor programs in social work and continuing education.
• Diocese of SionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCatholic diocese providing spiritual care services in Valais nursing homes through chaplaincy agreements. Mandated chaplains offer spiritual support regardless of religion.
• Abbey of Saint-MauriceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMonastic abbey participating in spiritual care conventions for nursing homes in its territory.
• Evangelical Reformed Church of ValaisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProtestant church providing spiritual care services in Valais nursing homes through chaplaincy agreements.
• OdASantécoreOthersNational organization for health professions in Switzerland. National umbrella organization for the world of work in health. Recognized training certifications referenced by AVALEMS.
• Ausbildungszentrum HévivaminorOthersTraining center for healthcare professions in the Vaudois region, referenced for initial and continuing education pathways.
• OrTra SSVSminorOthersOrganization of working worlds for health and social work in Valais. Referenced for training coordination.
• Espace CompétencesminorOthersTraining provider referenced for continuing education in Valais.
• Swiss Red Cross WallisminorOthersRed Cross training programs referenced for nursing assistants and continuing education.
• Pro SenectuteminorOthersSwiss foundation for the elderly referenced for social and cultural subsidies and support programs.
• Kantonales Gesundheitsamt (Cantonal Health Authority)coreOthersCantonal health department providing regulatory oversight and support for pharmaceutical care and oral health programs in Valais nursing homes.

Scale indicators5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• INSOS Suisse: National federation of service providers for people with disabilities. Sits alongside Curaviva within ARTISET, with a comparable employer-association model applied to a different population, making it a structurally analogous peer.
• Aide et soins à domicile Suisse (Spitex Schweiz): National association for Swiss home-care providers. Operates in the adjacent home-care space that AVALEMS explicitly recognizes as a substitute for traditional EMS, making it a thematic peer shaping the same elderly-care policy agenda.
• H+ Swiss Hospital Association: National association of Swiss public and private hospitals. Engages with the same federal financing (LAMal, EFAS), workforce, and quality-of-care policy debates as AVALEMS, but from the acute-care side.

Others

• OdASanté: National umbrella organization for the world of work in health in Switzerland. AVALEMS explicitly references OdASanté-recognized training certifications, making it an enabling/standards body for AVALEMS' workforce agenda.
• Pro Senectute: Switzerland's largest specialist organization for older people, providing services and subsidies. AVALEMS explicitly references Pro Senectute for social and cultural support programs, making it an adjacent ecosystem peer in elderly-care service delivery.

Direct peers

• AFIPA (Association Fribourgeoise des Institutions pour Personnes Âgées): Cantonal association of nursing homes in Fribourg. AFIPA plays the same role as AVALEMS in the neighboring canton of Fribourg, making it the most direct cantonal-level functional peer.
• AVEMS (Association Vaudoise d'Établissements Médico-Sociaux): Cantonal EMS association in Vaud. Represents the same type of institutions and provides the same collective services to member homes, making it a direct structural peer at cantonal level.
• Curaviva Suisse: National association of Swiss homes for the elderly and people requiring care. Curaviva is the direct national-level counterpart of AVALEMS and is itself a member of ARTISET, mirroring the relationship AVALEMS has with its cantonal peers.
• ARTISET: National federation of social and healthcare service providers in Switzerland. AVALEMS is a collective member; ARTISET provides the national-level employer representation and policy voice that AVALEMS delivers at cantonal level.

Regional players

• SBK-ASI (Swiss Nursing Association / Schweizer Berufsverband der Pflegefachfrauen und Pflegefachmänner): National professional association for nurses in Switzerland. Closely tied to the same workforce, training, and quality-of-care agenda as AVALEMS, and a key counterpart on labor and professional-development issues.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/association-valaisanne-des-etablissements-m-dico-sociaux-avalems-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SWALLOWS