ATLANTA — Former President Jimmy Carter, the Georgia native who is the longest living president in U.S. history, has decided against any further medical treatment and has entered home hospice care, the Carter Center said Saturday.
“After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention,” the Atlanta-based center said.
“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 Carter Center didn’t elaborate.
He and his wife Rosalynn have scaled back their public schedules in recent years, and endured the coronavirus pandemic mostly at their home in the southwest Georgia town of Plains, where they both grew up. The town, with a population of about 800 people, is roughly 130 miles south of Atlanta.
In 2015, Carter survived a melanoma diagnosis that later spread to his brain. The discovery followed the removal of a lesion on his liver that took about 10% of the organ. He also suffered several falls in 2019 and other health scares that have required hospitalization.
The 98-year-old became the longest-living American president in March 2019, when he surpassed former President George H.W. Bush. He served as the 39th U.S. president from 1977 to 1981, and he and Rosalynn have been married for 76 years.
Over the weekend, several family members traveled to Plains to visit with the former president.
“I saw both of my grandparents yesterday,” said Jason Carter, the former president’s grandson. “They are at peace and — as always — their home is full of love. Thank you all for your kind words.”
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