In memoriam: Dr. Desmond Henry
Ethan L Sanford, MD and Peter Szmuk MD UT Southwestern and Children's Medical Center, Dallas, TX
With great sadness, we inform you of the passing on Aug. 29 of Desmond Henry, M.D., retired Children’s Health Anesthesiologist-in-Chief and Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology and Pain Management, UT Southwestern.
Dr. Henry joined Children’s Health and UT Southwestern in September 2007. He served as our Anesthesiologist-in-Chief for 10 years, retiring Dec. 31, 2017.
During his tenure with Children’s Health, Dr. Henry helped grow the Anesthesiology program, adding providers of not only the crucial medication for surgical procedures but also sedation in other areas including Radiology, Hematology-Oncology and Pain Management. Among his many contributions, he served as Medical/Dental Staff President in 2015.
Dr. Henry, who was fluent in Spanish, received his medical degree from the Autonomous University of Guadalajara School of Medicine, then completed pediatric and anesthesiology residencies at the University of California Irvine Medical Center and a fellowship in pediatric anesthesia and pediatric critical care medicine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Before coming to Children’s Health, Dr. Henry was chief of Anesthesiology at Children's Hospital Colorado in Denver for 10 years.
Dr. Henry’s family expressed gratitude to Children’s Health for supporting him throughout his illness. They also shared that his time at Children’s Health and UT Southwestern was “the fondest of his professional career” because of relationships that transcended friendship and became akin to family.
We will provide memorial service details when they are finalized.
PS from Myron: Desmond and I were fellows together at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He was an exceptional and gifted pediatric anesthesiologist and intensivist. For the many of you who worked or trained with or under him and have memories to share, please send your thoughts, memories, and comments to me and I will post in a future PAAD. Farewell and rest in peace my dear friend…