Jimmy Carter, 98, Receiving Hospice Care at Home
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, 98, is receiving hospice care at his home in Plains, GA, The Carter Center announced Saturday.[0] This comes after a series of recent hospital stays. Carter is not only the oldest living president, but also the longest-lived American president in history.[1]
The Carter Center issued a statement, saying Carter had “the full support of his family and his medical team.”[2] The family asked for privacy during this time, and expressed gratitude for the concern shown by his admirers.[3]
Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, founded The Carter Center after his presidency, a human rights organization which helped spearhead a successful campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease.[4] Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for “his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.”[0]
A peanut farmer and US Navy lieutenant before going into politics, Carter, a Democrat, eventually served one term as governor of Georgia and president of the United States from 1977 to 1981.[5] Carter has experienced health issues in the public eye.[6] In August of 2015, he underwent a procedure to have a tumor with cancerous cells taken from his liver. Fortunately, the next year he declared that he was free from any further treatment due to an experimental medication that had eradicated any evidence of the cancer.[7]
Carter celebrated his most recent birthday in October with family and friends in Plains.[7] Carter and Rosalynn, his wife, hold the record for the longest-lasting marriage of any U.S. president and first lady.[8] Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock of Georgia tweeted his admiration for Carter, expressing that he is “a man of great faith” and affirming that “God is surely walking with him.”[9]
On October 1st, 1924, Carter was born into a well-known family from rural southern Georgia.[7] In WWII, he attended the U.S. Naval Academy, and afterwards, he served as a Naval officer during the Cold War. Eventually, he and Rosalynn returned to Plains, Georgia, along with their young children, to take charge of the family peanut business after Earl Carter passed away in the 1950s.[7]
Beginning at the local school board, the moderate Democrat, the younger Carter, ascended quickly to the state Senate and then the Georgia governor's office.[7] Starting out as an underdog in his campaign for the White House, his Baptist beliefs and engineering background were evident in his outspokenness and technical approaches.[7]
0. “Former president Jimmy Carter opts for home hospice care for final days” The Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/02/18/jimmy-carter-hospice-care/
1. “Georgia leaders react to President Jimmy Carter's hospice announcement” FOX 5 Atlanta, 19 Feb. 2023, https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/jimmy-carter-georgia-leaders-reaction
2. “Jimmy Carter, 98, opts for hospice care after string of hospital visits” The Guardian US, 18 Feb. 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/18/jimmy-carter-hospice-care-health
3. “Here's how you can send messages of support to Georgia native Jimmy Carter, the Carter family” WJCL News Savannah, 19 Feb. 2023, https://www.wjcl.com/article/jimmy-carter-hospice-messages-support/42977293
4. “Jimmy Carter to receive hospice care following hospitalizations: Carter Center” GMA, 18 Feb. 2023, https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/jimmy-carter-receive-hospice-care-hospitalizations-carter-center-97312351
5. “Jimmy Carter to begin receiving hospice care | News | wtva.com” WTVA, 18 Feb. 2023, https://www.wtva.com/news/jimmy-carter-to-begin-receiving-hospice-care/article_4e9fb4cd-3125-595d-a47b-7c6552efceef.html
6. “Former President Jimmy Carter, 98, Receiving Hospice Care” The Daily Beast, 18 Feb. 2023, https://www.thedailybeast.com/former-president-jimmy-carter-receiving-hospice-care-at-home
7. “Jimmy Carter, the 39th U.S. president, is in hospice care” CNBC, 18 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/18/former-president-jimmy-carter-enters-hospice-care-charity-says.html
8. “Former US president Jimmy Carter to receive hospice care” The Jerusalem Post, 18 Feb. 2023, https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-732001
9. “State leaders issue statements on former President Carter getting hospice care” WALB, 19 Feb. 2023, https://www.walb.com/2023/02/19/state-leaders-issue-statements-former-president-carter-getting-hospice-care/
