PINE BLUFF - The Jones-Dunklin Cancer Center at Jefferson Regional serves patients from across South Arkansas, many of whom face the significant challenge of traveling long distances for multi-day treatments. For numerous patients, this means enduring hours of travel or bearing the expense of hotel accommodations during their care.Understanding these hardships firsthand after navigating her own daughter’s battle with cancer, Donna Terrell envisioned a solution to ease these burdens for patients and their caregivers.This vision led to the creation of Donna Terrell’s Warrior Lodge at Jefferson Regional, a housing facility aimed at providing comfort and support to cancer patients undergoing treatment at the Jefferson Regional Jones-Dunklin Cancer Center. The Warrior Lodge is a joint project between Donna Terrell's Yoga Warriors Fighting Cancer Organization, Jefferson Regional, and the Jefferson Regional Foundation. Originally, plans were set to build a new facility, but escalating material costs, necessary site adjustments, and infrastructure changes made the project financially challenging. After reevaluating resources, Jefferson Regional identified a more cost-effective and efficient solution by repurposing and remodeling what was formerly the Jefferson Regional School of Nursing, located at 1800 West 40th Avenue in Pine Bluff.This updated facility, spanning 4,265 square feet, offers several advantages over the original 3,200-square-foot plan, including easier walking access from the cancer center and a much better use of donor funds. The building itself has a rich history—it was originally constructed in 1961 as a house of worship and became Jefferson Regional's School of Nursing in 2004. Over 600 nursing students graduated from this program, many of whom are now employees of Jefferson Regional and four of those are currently instructors at Jefferson Regional School of Nursing. By remodeli...
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