Before the world knew the name Lena Lowe Jordan, she was simply a young nurse from Georgia with a dream and a calling.
But by the time she died in 1950, she had done the unthinkable: founded a hospital for African Americans, trained a generation of Black nurses, and bet her own home to keep the lights on in the only charity hospital for Black children in the state.
And she did it all with a fierce conviction summed up in her mantra: “The Lord Provides.”
Born on April 6, 1884, in Georgia, Lena Lowe trained as a nurse at Savannah’s Charity Hospital. She relocated to Little Rock in the 1920s, bringing her compassion—and her fire—with her. She first served as head nurse at Mosaic State Hospital in 1927, a facility tied to the influential Mosaic Templars, the African American fraternal organization in which her husband, Peach Jordan, was a leader.
But it was the 1930s when Lena Jordan’s grit would truly be tested.
While affiliated with the Arkansas Home and Hospital for Crippled Negro Children, Jordan found herself fighting to save the institution from financial ruin. In 1936, she took out a mortgage on her own home, publicly pleading for donations in the Arkansas Gazette. Her desperate efforts worked. The hospital was renamed in her honor by 1938, and The Lena Jordan Hospital at 1500 Pulaski became a refuge of hope and healing for the underserved Black community.
By 1943, the hospital had moved to 16th and Chester, where it remained until 1953. A twenty-bed facility capable of performing general surgery, obstetric care, and medical treatment, the Lena Jordan Hospital served all Black patients, regardless of their ability to pay.
She didn’t stop at healing bodies. Jordan also believed in training minds. In a time when opportunities for Black women were scarce, she launched a practical nursing program, offering room, board, clothing, a stipend, and—most importantly—a path forward. Some of her protégés went on to business school or college.
In 1934, she even partnered with the Red Cross to teach a Home Nursing course—ninety-one Black women graduated in a cap-and-gown ceremony at Little Rock’s First Baptist Church.
Jordan’s work was recognized publicly. On National Hospital Day, May 12, 1950, she was honored for her 40-year nursing career and the 21st anniversary of the hospital she built from nothing.
But just a few months later, on September 30, 1950, Lena Lowe Jordan died of a cerebral hemorrhage, bringing a remarkable era of service to a close. She was laid to rest at Haven of Rest Cemetery in Little Rock.
Today, her story is more than a history lesson—it’s a testament to a woman who refused to let poverty, segregation, or the system stop her. In a time of great need, she did what only the boldest dreamers do: she built a legacy with her bare hands.
