Funeral services set for Dr. Bruce Maurice Henry, pediatric ER physician slain in NYC
Funeral services for Dr. Bruce Maurice Henry will take place in the Bronx on Thursday with a second visitation taking place Friday at Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene.
Henry, who was a pediatric emergency physician at Montefiore Nyack Hospital and other facilities in the New York area, was killed Dec. 23 in an early-morning attack in a Manhattan park. He would have turned 61 the following day.
Rev. Richard Griffiths of Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene said physicians around the country have reached out. "A network of doctors of color and Black doctors have really found him as a source of encouragement over the years," he said.
'Everyone's devastated': Dr. Bruce Maurice Henry, slain pediatric ER physician, remembered
Nurses who worked with Henry, and parents of patients who he treated, also shared their remembrances and gratitude after Henry had been identified as the victim of a brutal slaying in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem.
Aided children's health around world
His dedication to children's health went beyond the borders of the U.S. and his professional work, said Arlene Nembhard, musical director at Bronx Bethany and Henry's cousin.
Henry, who was born in Jamaica, started working with Organization for International Development Inc. in 1996. He went on many mission trips with OID, which offers health care and community development help in Jamaica and throughout the Caribbean, as well as in Africa and other locations.
The family has requested donations be made in Henry's memory to OID, www.oidinc.org, and other charities.
Polio again detected in New York: Virus in Orange County wastewater samples after 6 weeks
Fighting RSV surge: Pfizer's Pearl River site leads maternal vaccine research
Henry had sent books and clothing and paid education costs for children in Jamaica and beyond, Nembhard said, adding: "He does it quietly, he's not ostentatious or anything of that nature."
Survived by 99-year-old mom
Henry is survived by a brother, Boswell Atkinson, and his family, and his mother, Enid Scott, 99, who all live in New Orleans.
For the past 13 months, he had been working one week a month at Children's Hospital New Orleans, traveling to Louisiana so he could help his brother with any caretaking needs for his mother, who lives independently.
"He wanted to keep a closer eye on her," Nembhard said.
Henry worked the night shift, his preference, and was known as a friendly colleague who always showed up with a smile. "We definitely could not have expanded our emergency services over the last year without his help," said Dr. Toni Gross, chief of emergency medicine at Children’s Hospital New Orleans, "and are incredibly grateful for his contributions and deeply saddened by this tragic loss."
Visitation, services
Visitation for Henry is from 6-7 p.m. on Thursday at Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene, 971 East 227th St., in the Bronx. Funeral services follow at 7 p.m. at the church.
A second visitation is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Jan. 13 at Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene.
"This was his church home," Griffiths said of Henry. "I think he saw his work in the world as an expression of his faith."
Interment follows the Friday visitation and prayer service, and is at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.
Eternity Funeral Services in the Bronx is handling the arrangements.
Nancy Cutler writes about People & Policy. Follow her on Twitter at @nancyrockland.
Click here for her latest stories
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Funeral services set for pediatric ER physician slain in NYC
