Transcript of interview with Dee Hicks by Claytee D. White, May 4, 2008

Dee Hicks was born in Damascus, Arkansas, in 1946. She was the tenth of 13 children born to Guy and Augusta Goff. Her father was a Baptist preacher and carpenter by trade, and her mother was a housewife. Dee's decision to become a nurse became a focal point in her life in the tenth grade. She joined the Future Nurses' Club and geared her high school classes toward nursing. Later Dee went to Oklahoma Baptist University and graduated with a bachelor of science in nursing. After marrying in 1969, Dee joined her husband in Las Vegas, who was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base. At the age of 22, she joined the staff at Sunrise Hospital. There were only 500 beds at that time, and over the course of her 35 years at that hospital, she saw it grow to 701 beds. Dee's career included starting out as staff nurse, then becoming charge nurse, house supervisor, director of adult critical care, assistant director of nurses, and finally director of nurses. She shares how she honed her skills in various workshops and courses, observed various surgeries, and witnessed the evolution of nurses' uniforms from formal whites to colorful scrubs. In addition to her nursing duties, Dee also served on the State Board of Health and on many nursing boards. She did volunteer work with Street Teens, helped pass a bill that allows LPNs to do IV interventions with patients, and took training to be a parish nurse so she could volunteer to help sick people in her congregation. She stands ready today to help her community in whatever way she can.