Bruce W. Berger, M.D., F.A.C.S., has been a urologist at Sinai Hospital for more than 40 years and served LifeBridge Health in many other capacities. Now, he and his wife Toni are giving back with a bequest in their wills.
“We want to do our part to ensure that LifeBridge Health will continue to carry out its mission of providing health care to the community and educating future health care professionals,” they said.
Bruce has served as president of the medical staff, as chair of the Sinai Physicians Capital Campaign, and as a Sinai Hospital and LifeBridge board member. For 20 years he was on board of the Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital. He served as board chair person for two years. In addition, he served as chair of the physicians’ division of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore.
Bruce grew up in upstate New York near Syracuse. Toni and Bruce met as undergraduates at Cornell University. After graduating, Bruce earned his M.D. at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, while Toni earned her master’s in education at Syracuse University.
They came to Baltimore for Bruce’s four-year residency at the Brady Urologic Institute at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Bruce and Toni grew found of Baltimore; and when he finished his residency in 1976, they decided to make Baltimore their home. Bruce joined the practice of Martin A. Robbins and Stephen P. Cohen, which was based at Sinai Hospital and Northwest Hospital. Bruce says he was attracted to Sinai because it was both a community hospital committed to excellent patient care and an academic institution committed to education. This allowed him to have both a busy urological practice caring for his patients and to be involved in training resident physicians. In 1999 he was one of the founders of Chesapeake Urology.
While Bruce was on the attending physician staff, Sinai Hospital was also growing and expanding to become an integral part of LifeBridge Health. Bruce believed that the medical staff at Sinai Hospital was equal in ability to the medical staff at a major academic center. During his 42 years on the Sinai Hospital staff, he has known many excellent physicians; but there are three who he especially admired: Gershon Efron, M.D. (former chief of surgery), Belur Bhagavan, M.D. (former chief of pathology), and Jerome Reichmister, M.D. (chief of orthopedics)—all excellent doctors and educators. Dr. Reichmister is an example to all for his dedication to Sinai and the community. Bruce would also like to acknowledge the vision and leadership of Warren Green and Barry Rosen in shaping the LifeBridge Health that we know today.
While Bruce was growing his urology practice, Toni raised their two children and studied interior design at MICA—the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. She now paints professionally; her website is www.tonibergerart.net. The Bergers have been married for 52 years and live in Owings Mills. They take full advantage of what Baltimore has to offer. They have enjoyed being members of the Baltimore Museum, the Walters, and the Jewish Museum. They have attended the performances at Center Stage (for 44 years!), Everyman Theater, the Speaker’s Series, and the Baltimore Symphony. They are members of the Suburban Club and Beth El Congregation.
Bruce says that becoming a physician has been a privilege that, during the course of his long career, has given him the opportunity to improve the health and well-being of thousands of patients.
Toni and Bruce feel fortunate to be part of the LifeBridge Health family and the community that it serves. “We are committed to giving back to an institution that cares for so many individuals so well.”