How One Swiss Doctor Revived a Village's Fading Healthcare System

In a small Swiss village, Dr Benjamin Stettler-Gruntz runs a busy family practice with his wife, Katharina. The couple opened their clinic just over a year ago, filling a four-year gap without a local doctor. Their decision brought much-needed medical care back to the rural community.

Despite earning less than in urban areas, they chose the countryside for a better quality of life—even if it means working twelve-hour days. Each morning, Stettler-Gruntz starts by making coffee for himself and his patients. His days are packed, with a new patient arriving every twenty minutes for check-ups, blood pressure readings, or mole removals. Between appointments, he listens to lungs and tends to the elderly at a nearby nursing home.

House calls are part of his routine, even when they don’t turn a profit. He enjoys the personal connection, often addressing long-term patients by their first names. The workload is demanding, but he has never regretted leaving salaried work to run his own practice.

The need for doctors like him is growing. By 2030, Switzerland will need to replace 22% of its family physicians. Five years later, nearly 40% will have retired. Rural areas face the worst shortages, with just 0.4 primary care doctors per 1,000 residents—far below the urban ratio of 1 per 1,000. The Stettler-Gruntz practice has restored access to healthcare in a village that went without a doctor for years. Their commitment highlights the challenges—and rewards—of rural medicine. With an ageing workforce and deepening shortages, communities like theirs will increasingly rely on young physicians willing to take on the role.