»Furthermore, every new worker must provide a certificate attesting that he is in good health and free of physical defects.«
Factory regulations for workers of »Chemische Fabrik E. Merck« in Darmstadt, Germany, 1884

Occupational accidents are common in the early years of the chemical industry, as the risks involved in handling hazardous substances are high and workplace healthand safety standards are low. Rapid medical first aid is all the more important as a result. When the company moves to its present location in the north of Darmstadt in 1904, the company sets up a first-aid center staffed by two medical assistants who can administer first aid fast in an emergency.

An employment contract from as early as 1853 mentions a company physician: If a worker »falls ill as a result of work performed or a particular sequence of circumstances in the workplace, and if that illness is not caused by the person’s own carelessness, lasts four days or more and is attested as such by the current company physician, that person shall continue to receive full pay«. According to the 1884 »Factory regulations for workers of Chemische Fabrik E. Merck in Darmstadt«, the company physician is also responsible for pre-employment health screening. In 1905 the company engages a Darmstadt-based physician who attends to the health needs of company employees part-time.

The first full-time company physician, Wilhelm Lörcher, is hired in April 1928: »The company has now implemented a long-standing intention by hiring its own company physician.« The new company physician is »advisor to the Executive Board on industrial health and safety issues«, examines blue-collar and white-collar job applicants to establish their fitness for work, monitors the first-aid center and first-responder crew, and provides assistance at accidents and acute illnesses at work; office hours are from 8 to 10 a.m.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the first-aid center is staffed by the on-site physician, a nurse and a medical assistant. The medical assistant lives on company premises and responds to emergencies outside the operating hours of the first-aid center, which is staffed during regular working hours from Mondays to Saturdays; in the absence of the medical assistant, the fire brigade takes over. In 1933, the first-aid center moves to new premises in Pützer Tower and even has an X-ray room. After World War II, the first-aid center is allocated additional staff. The team now includes a second full-time company physician, a female nurse, a male nurse and a female laboratory technician. The facility’s range of activities also expands continually, as reflected in a change of name in 1955: »The first-aid center will beknown from now on as the site medical center.«

The first-aid center established in 1904 is located at the site entrance between Pützer Tower and »Beamten-Kasino«, a cafeteria for senior management staff. The premises are equipped with facilities for medical examinations, emergency surgeries, resuscitation and transporting patients.

The first-aid center moves into Pützer Tower in 1933. The staff consists of a physician, a medical assistant and a nurse. A first responder crew set up in 1926 also provides first aid and recruits new talent from the company sports department, established in 1929.

The first full-time company physician is Wilhelm Lörcher, a medical doctor who retires in 1965 after 37 years in the role. The first-aid center is expanded on a continual basis after World War II and renamed the »Site Medical Center« in 1955.