Trey Parrish is a skilled psychiatric nurse practitioner, and he is also a strong advocate for patients who have no one to speak for them. Many of Trey’s patients lack decision-making capacity for different reasons. Some of these conditions are easily treatable, but some patients will remain incapacitated even after receiving maximum treatment. When they also have no family or friends who can make decisions for them, care planning can become more complex. Trey consistently advocates for these vulnerable patients by engaging the Ethics Committee, Case Management, and other team members to work as an interdisciplinary team.

Trey recognizes and treats his patients with compassion. His advocacy serves as an example to team members, especially early career nurses. Active interdisciplinary work takes time, but it’s the right thing to do to protect patients’ well-being. He also recognizes the moral distress he experiences caring for patients who have no safe discharge plan, which shows good self-care and models recognition of moral distress to other team members. He uses the experience of moral distress to motivate action.

One specific patient he advocated for involved an elderly patient who lived alone without social support. He had moderate dementia and had had several admissions due to falls and other complications. Because of Trey’s advocacy, his decision-making capacity was carefully assessed over the course of his admission. It was determined that he did not meet the criteria for a conservator but required comprehensive services to be safe at home. He was discharged home with robust services and appears to be doing well several months later.  

Thank you, Trey, for your hard work and efforts. We appreciate all you do, and you are truly making a difference!