The Hoffberger Breast Center

Hoffberger Family Philanthropies

The Hoffberger Foundation (now Hoffberger Family Philanthropies) raised $500,000 to support the Women’s Health Center at Mercy, which houses The Hoffberger Breast Center that opened in 1999, and also generously donated $500,000 to create an endowment to provide health care access for poor women.

The Hoffberger family immigrated to America in 1882 from Europe. Charles and Sarah Hoffberger had seven sons who would each go on to live out their parents’ values of philanthropy, justice, and egalitarianism through the creation of their family foundation in the 1940s.

Samuel Hoffberger, the third son of Charles and Sarah and a lawyer by trade, took it upon himself to bridge the gap between Baltimore’s Jewish and Catholic communities by becoming involved with Mercy in the 1940s. Samuel served on an Advisory Board to provide advice and community links to the Sisters of Mercy, who were managing the hospital at that time. That same decade, when Samuel was visiting a friend who was a patient at Mercy, he noticed the old elevators took a very long time to reach him. The next day, the Hoffberger family donated funds to install a modern elevator.

In the 1950s, the Hoffberger Foundation raised funds to build the McAuley Tower. In the 1960s, Samuel’s son Jerold became one of Mercy’s first board members. During his tenure, the Hoffberger Foundation raised funds to build Mercy’s ecumenical chapel.

Lois Hoffberger Halpert, granddaughter of Harry Hoffberger and daughter of Charles and Florence Hoffberger, served on the Mercy Health Services Board of Trustees from 1999 until her passing in October 2023. She was devoted to Mercy and will be deeply missed. Her legacy will live on through the patients whose lives she touched.

Each day, the Hoffberger Breast Center at Mercy provides comprehensive care thoughtfully designed for women undergoing the journey to overcome breast disease. The Center offers all aspects of patient-centered care, including reconstructive surgery and restoration techniques, Intraoperative Radiation Therapy, state-of-the-art 3D Mammography, MRI and ultrasound diagnostic services, world-renowned oncologists, nutritionists, physical and occupational therapists, nurse navigators, a wig program and health boutique, and beautiful patient suites, to name a few.

This important work is made possible thanks to the outstanding support of the Hoffberger family, whose dedicated philanthropy strengthens and uplifts our shared communities.