Health First Trauma Surgeon Dr. Ashlee Moore to Seniors: ‘We Have Incredible Tools To Prolong Life’

event created, coordinated by Director of One Senior Place Barbara Fradkin

Have a health advocate. Establish and communicate medical wishes before an accident or crisis, surgeon advises.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Health First Trauma Surgeon Ashlee Moore, MD, saw it first-hand with her great-grandmother. Lack of communication may result in unwanted life-extending care in Emergency Departments and Intensive Care Units.

Moore shared her experiences with Brevard County residents gathered for a free lunch and learn Oct. 17 at One Senior Place in Viera.

A stroke resulted in significant limitations for her great-grandmother. Eventually, she had difficulty swallowing. At the hospital, she struggled even to breathe.

“No one clearly asked us, ‘What do you want us to do?’” the surgeon recalled. “‘Would she want to be on a breathing machine?’ ‘If her heart stops, does she want to be resuscitated?’”

This was 20 years ago in Wisconsin. After a few days in the hospital, her heart stopped.

“At 88, she wasn’t happy living the way she was,” Dr. Moore said.

“We should have had an opportunity to speak to someone the moment she was admitted. To say, ‘This is a woman who simply needs to be made comfortable and allow her family to spend some time with her.’”

‘QUALITY OF LIFE’

Dr. Moore asked the audience to consider all of the abilities they have today that comprise their quality of life: mobility, eating, toileting, speech and communication, sensory experiences and cognition. Whatever abilities they would not wish to live without – “convey that to your doctor.”

“I work to try to get that person back home at the same quality of life they had before. It doesn’t matter how old you are.”

Dr. Moore said the two most common reasons for elderly to make unexpected visits to an Emergency Department are falls and car accidents. The two qualities of advanced age that make these so treacherous are cognitive decline and frailty – a clinical term that means a body’s “diminished reserve” to recover following an adverse health event.

“Our bodies aren’t equipped to respond with the same capacity to heal at 85 years compared to 55.”

“The best thing I can tell you is to have an advocate. Someone who understands you and can speak up for you,” the surgeon said.

‘PROACTIVE IN HELPING PEOPLE’

One audience member was Mary Handlin, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. Having a plan, she said, “absolutely prevents crisis management.”

“A famous philosopher, [Soren] Kierkegaard, said that there’s two ways to make really foolish decisions in life. One is to not have the information you need. The other is to have the information presented to you, and you choose to ignore it. This right here empowers people. It gives them a sense of control instead of victimization.

“I’m so thankful for this,” she added, “thankful to the doctor who volunteered her precious time to visit with us – because we could be her future patients! I’m impressed with Health First being proactive in helping people.”

The event was created and coordinated by Barbara Fradkin, Director of One Senior Place.

“The value of having a trauma surgeon come in and talk is so people at least have an idea of what can happen,” she said.

“The family can come in and say, ‘I want this, this and this,’ but now, they’re going to be able to say, ‘No, this is what I want,’ and for them to have that power is very beneficial.”

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