Jimmy Carter to receive hospice care after series of hospital stays

Former President Jimmy Carter, 98, has begun receiving hospice care following a series of “short” hospital stays, according to a statement from The Carter Center. 

The center said in a post on its website on Saturday that Carter, who is the oldest living president, decided to spend his remaining time at his home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention. 

“He has the full support of his family and his medical team,” the statement reads. “The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers.”

The spokesperson for the Secret Service took to social media on Saturday to remind Carter that the agency — tasked with protecting top U.S. and visiting foreign officials — would “forever” be by his side.

“Rest easy Mr. President. We will be forever by your side,” Anthony Guglielmi tweeted.

Carter has battled through a series of health challenges in recent years. He was diagnosed in 2015 with melanoma that spread to his liver and brain but said by the end of the year that he was cancer-free after undergoing radiation therapy and cancer immunotherapy.

He was hospitalized on multiple occasions in 2019 after falls he suffered, including one time when he needed surgery after breaking a hip and another time when he needed stitches above his brow.

Carter served as the 39^th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. He previously served as governor of Georgia for four years before being elected president in 1976.

At 98 years old, Carter is the longest-lived president, having lived about four years longer than the second-longest lived, George H.W. Bush. He has also had the longest retirement of any president, having a post-presidency of more than 42 years.

Carter, also a peanut farmer, has continued to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity as he has gotten older until recently. He and his wife, Rosalynn, helped repair more than 4,000 homes in 14 countries as of 2019.