Dr. Seymour-Hillier received her Doctor of Optometry degree from Pacific University and has been providing eye care within nursing homes and assisted living facilities since 2017. And she absolutely loves working with her patients! Most of her favorite patients are under the age of 12 or over the age of 80 – there’s just something about that lack of filter coupled with youthful innocence or wise experience!
One of the things Dr. Hillier noticed about some of her own health care providers is their agenda: you show up to their office with your concerns written on the intake forms, and during their 10 minutes with you in the exam room, they have gone through their checklist while completely ignoring the reason you’re there! One of the best things her father taught her was the importance of being what your patient needs in that moment; and that is often a shoulder to cry on, an empathetic ear, or a creative problem solver rather than an updated glasses prescription. The eyes may get a lot of attention during the exam, but it is the whole person that is being treated.
Another belief Dr. Hillier feels is important: just because it’s broken, doesn’t mean you need to fix it. The patient may have cataracts, but if they are unable to tolerate the surgery to remove them, or they are unable to understand that they can’t rub their eyes for weeks following the procedure, then a referral to an ophthalmologist’s office doesn’t make sense. If a patient has an eye turn, but doesn’t see double, the surgery to straighten might make the eyes aligned, but remove the patient’s ability to drive. She has also learned to ask the right questions beforehand, so the patient doesn’t show up to an office that can’t accommodate their wheelchair, only to be sent back home.
