And for Partners in Health, one of Boston’s highest-profile charities, her sudden death under its supervision has prompted soul-searching and questions about whether Henri, who received medical care here two years ago, later tumbled through the cracks toward a lonely and unattended death.
“Everyone associated with the case is devastated,’’ said Ted Constan, chief operating officer of Partners in Health.
Henri’s death startled educators, who saw promise in her hard work and ambition in her desire to return to Haiti as a caregiver.
“It is a terrific shock,’’ said Nicole Bahnam, headmaster of Newcomers Academy in Dorchester, where Henri studied after surgery at Children’s Hospital Boston to remove cancerous adrenal glands. “I’m distraught. The more I think about it, the more it bothers me. Why in America should someone die alone?’’
The question has yet to receive a clear answer.
The cause of Henri’s death is unknown, and an autopsy will be conducted, but critics such as Bahnam are asking how a 20-year-old woman with known medical problems could die on her own while in a Partners program.
That program, Right to Health Care, uses hospitals and physicians in the United States and elsewhere to offer critical treatment not available in the patient’s home country.
Constan said Partners will reexamine Henri’s case.
“Any time we have a bad outcome, we look to ourselves and our programs as to how we can prevent that,’’ Constan said in a telephone interview from Rwanda. “Everyone associated with the case is devastated and is looking back to see how we could have changed.’’
A Partners spokeswoman said she knew of no red flags that would have indicated an imminent threat to Henri’s health. But teachers, friends, and Henri’s landlord described a woman who had begun to lose weight, missed many days at school, and often rubbed her stomach to indicate the source of nagging pain.
