Former President Jimmy Carter enters hospice care
98-year-old former President "has the full support of his family and his medical team"
Former President Jimmy Carter will begin receiving hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia, the Carter Center said in a statement on Saturday.
“After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention,” the statement read. “He has the full support of his family and his medical team. The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers.”
The 98-year-old Carter was a peanut farmer and a Naval officer before entering electoral politics. He served one term as Governor of Georgia and was elected the 39th President of the United States in 1976.
He has been a champion for human rights and world peace since leaving the White House. He and his wife, Rosalynn, founded the Carter Center in 1982 to help fight global crises such as disease and famine. They have also helped build homes as part of Habitat for Humanity.
He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
In 2021, celebrities, former Presidents and First Ladies, media personalities and musicians all descended on the Carters’ small hometown to celebrate the couple’s 75th wedding anniversary. They are the longest-married presidential couple in U.S. history.
But the former President’s old age and a series of health challenges have resulted in a limited public schedule, including his famous Sunday school lessons. He survived a bout with brain cancer in 2015 but had to undergo brain surgery in 2019.
He and his family privately celebrated his 98th birthday last October.
President Joe Biden, a longtime friend of the Carters, has been notified of Carter’s condition. The two have a long history: Biden was the first U.S. Senator to endorse Carter’s underdog bid for President in 1976.
The President and First Lady Jill Biden visited the Carters in 2021 as Biden marked his 100th day in office.
Jason Carter, a former Georgia state senator Carter’s grandson, said that he visited with both of his grandparents on Friday. “They are at peace and—as always—their home is full of love,” he said on social media.