Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States who died at the age of 100 on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, had been living in hospice care at his home since Feb. 2023.
Back in May, Carter’s son, Jason Carter, said in a speech at the Carter Center in Georgia that his grandfather was “doing OK.”
Jason Carter also praised the “outpouring of love” the Carter family received since the passing of the former first lady Rosalynn Carter in Nov. 2023.
JIMMY CARTER, 39TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DEAD AT 100
“He has been in hospice … for almost a year and a half now, and he really is, I think, coming to the end,” Jason Carter said at the time.
“I’ve said before, there’s a part of this faith journey that is so important to him, and there’s a part of that faith journey that you only can live at the very end, and I think he has been there in that space,” the grandson also said.
Previous health issues
Carter had experienced multiple health issues in recent years.
Following liver surgery to remove a mass in 2015, the former president was diagnosed with melanoma, which had spread to multiple areas of his brain, according to reports.
After surgery and several months of treatment with radiation and immunotherapy, Carter’s cancer cleared.
Carter had since experienced a bout of dehydration and several falls that led to a broken hip, pelvic fracture and other injuries, per reports.
Carter’s wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, also entered hospice in Nov. 2023 alongside her husband. She died just a few days later at the age of 96.
Some experts have praised the Carter family for sharing the details of the couple’s journey through aging, hospice care and death.
FORMER FIRST LADY ROSALYNN CARTER DEAD AT 96
“It’s been massive to have the Carters be so public,” said Angela Novas, chief medical officer for the Hospice Foundation of America in Washington, D.C., according to an Associated Press report.
“It has shed hospice in a new light, and it’s raised questions” for people to learn more, she added.
What is hospice care?
“Hospice is health care for people who are dying,” Dr. Harold Braswell, associate professor of Health Care Ethics at St. Louis University and author of several books related to end-of-life issues, told Fox News Digital in November.
This type of medical care is “interdisciplinary,” the doctor noted, including a mix of medical, psychosocial and spiritual support.
It also includes assistance with day-to-day activities.
Hospice care focuses on managing symptoms and making patients as comfortable as possible rather than administering treatment for a disease or ailment.
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A person becomes eligible for hospice after receiving a medical diagnosis with six months or less to live, according to Braswell.
“Hospice is not curative care,” said Braswell. “It is not oriented toward curing a patient’s medical condition — and qualifying for hospice generally requires that a patient abandon curative interventions such as chemotherapy.”
Hospice is also not seen as a replacement for nursing home care or other residential care, and is not intended to “hasten death,” according to the Hospice Foundation of America (HFA)’s website.
It also does not encompass 24/7 care, the HFA noted. Instead, hospice team members generally visit the patient and family caregivers as needed.
Most U.S. hospice patients receive care in an outpatient setting, such as their private home, a nursing home or a long-term care facility, Braswell told Fox News Digital.
“Some hospices — a relatively small number — offer inpatient care, though this is only for a very short amount of time, generally for people who are actively dying,” Braswell said.
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