Justin Bates
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April 2, 2026
Justin Hicks, a UA Little Rock nursing graduate, serves as nursing manager for Adult Behavioral Health at CHI St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock. Hicks, pictured, was featured in a recent UA Little Rock commercial that appeared during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Photo by Benjamin Krain
A simple conversation changed the course of Justin Hicks’ life and set him on a path to nursing.
At 38, he was working at three different restaurants, picking up shifts wherever he could. One evening, after arriving for a shift at a catfish house in Bee Branch, Arkansas, his boss, a woman named Rosemary, pulled him aside. The 81-year-old encouraged him to consider a career in nursing.
“She told me, ‘Justin, you can’t work for me forever. I’m either going to pass away or close this place in the coming year. You need to find a permanent career. My daughter has been a nurse for 35 years, and I think you would make a great nurse,’” Hicks said.
It was simple, direct advice, and it stuck.
Not long after, Hicks took her advice and decided to pursue a career in nursing. Around the same time, his family asked if he would move in with his grandmother, also named Rosemary, and help care for her as her health declined. What began as a practical decision soon became his first real caregiving experience.
“My grandma contributed more to my nursing education than I realized at the time,” he said. “I learned patience. I learned how to stay positive. I learned how to really be present with someone.”
He spent nights sitting with her, watching television, talking, and simply being there. Those moments shaped how he would later care for patients.
When she passed away in 2022, Hicks was at work as the charge nurse on 8 East, the behavioral health unit at CHI St. Vincent Infirmary. It was Super Bowl Sunday.
In the middle of that shift, his father called to tell him his grandmother was gone. As he tried to process the news, he looked up and saw a familiar face in the unit, a veteran nurse he trusted and looked to as a mentor.
In that moment, Hicks saw it as his grandmother’s way of reminding him he had made the right decision and that he was surrounded by the right people.
“The best way you can honor someone is to make something of your life, work hard, love people, and be good to others,” he said.
That perspective carried with him into his time at UA Little Rock.
He chose the university not only for its nursing program, but because of what it meant to his family.
“My dad attended UA Little Rock but didn’t finish his degree because he was raising a family,” Hicks said. “He’s always taken care of me and set a great example. I wanted to honor him by finishing what he started.”
Hicks enrolled in the accelerated nursing program and completed his degree in just 18 months. The pace was intense and required discipline from the start.
“It really taught me time management and how to prioritize,” he said. “I also learned how to work with people who had different personalities, work ethics, and strengths.”
Midway through his program, the COVID-19 pandemic shifted much of his education online.
“Half of my education was virtual,” he said. “It forced me to adapt and improvise, and those are things I still rely on every day.”
Today, Hicks serves as nursing manager for Adult Behavioral Health at CHI St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock. He oversees a unit that can care for up to 52 patients and leads a team of around 100 employees, often operating at capacity.
His path to that role began at the bedside at St. Vincent, where he interned while still in nursing school. It was the only place he interviewed, and he didn’t feel the need to look elsewhere.
“I wanted to give back and work for them after graduation,” he said.
He began as a floor nurse in behavioral health and moved through several roles, including charge nurse and utilization review, before stepping into leadership. In March 2026, he became nursing manager.
Along the way, he credits mentors like Judy Staley, assistant professor of nursing and director of the Center for Simulation Innovation, who helped guide his growth and opened doors for him.
“They showed me how to be a professional, how to work hard, and how to truly care about people,” he said.
Staley said Hicks is a “phenomenal” mental health nurse.
“I had the opportunity to work directly with him in mental health simulation, and he has significantly influenced my growth as both an educator and a nurse,” Staley said. “He brings an inspiring presence to his interactions with students and has a unique ability to translate complex situations into meaningful learning experiences. His passion and dedication to the profession truly exemplify what nursing is all about.”
Behavioral health, in particular, is deeply personal for Hicks. In 2005, he lost his brother to suicide.
“It rattled my family to our core,” he said. “It’s a permanent hole that’s caused so much heartache and a lot of unanswered questions.”
That experience continues to shape how he understands the work.
“I think nearly all of us encounter some form of mental health struggle at some point in our lives, just like we all deal with physical health issues,” he said. “The severity may look different, but it affects everyone in some way.”
He also knows how difficult it can be for people to express what they’re going through.
“In many cases, people aren’t able to fully articulate what’s happening or how serious it’s become until a lot of damage has already been done,” he said.
That loss continues to guide how Hicks approaches his work.
“I think if people took an honest look at their own mental health and had meaningful conversations with the people around them, they’d start to see just how common and how serious these issues really are,” he said.
Even with the demands of his role, Hicks has stayed connected to the UA Little Rock nursing program. For several years, he returned to help with simulation training, working directly with nursing students as they prepared for real-world scenarios.
“I remember how stressful that time was,” he said. “If I can help someone feel more confident or give them something they can use later, that means a lot.”
Those moments created a bigger picture for him.
“Fundamentally, nursing at its core is about people taking time to genuinely make a difference in someone’s life,” he said.
That same sense of purpose carried into a moment he never expected. Hicks was featured in a UA Little Rock commercial that aired during the Winter Olympics.
“It was a really great experience,” he said. “I was impressed with how much detail went into everything.”
For him, it was less about being on screen and more about representing the university that helped shape his path. Through it all, Hicks comes back to a few core ideas that guide how he works and lives.
“First, take care of yourself. You can’t take care of others if you’re not taking care of yourself,” he said.
He also keeps things simple.
“Be kind. Keep patients safe. Be a good teammate. And find a way to make a meaningful impact.”
It’s a philosophy rooted in his time at UA Little Rock, in the lessons he learned from his family, and in the influence of two women named Rosemary, who saw something in him before he saw it in himself.