ATLANTA — Former President Jimmy Carter is now receiving hospice care, prompting questions about what this means for the nation's longest-living president.
On Saturday, the Carter Center shared that former President Jimmy Carter would begin receiving hospice care. The center announced Carter decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family instead of additional medical intervention.
The 39th president of the U.S. is the oldest living U.S. president and the only U.S. president from Georgia. At 98, his political career has stretched decades with his work in public service spanning beyond his presidency.
The news of Carter entering hospice care is now sparking public interest in understanding what hospice care is and what it provides patients and their families.
Chandelle Carter, the bereavement coordinator and grief specialist at Visiting Nurse Health System's hospice division, Hospice Atlanta, answered questions about what it means when someone enters hospice care.
What is hospice care?
Nonprofit medical center Mayo Clinic defines hospice care as care for people nearing the end of their life. Chandelle Carter explains that hospice is administered when a serious illness reaches the point when treatment can no longer cure or control it.
Hospice, sometimes called "end-of-life care" is administered by a team of health care professionals whose goal is to maximize the patient's comfort by prioritizing pain and symptom management and quality of life for the time that they have left, Chandelle Carter explained.
Hospice teams, such as the teams at Hospice Atlanta, provide comprehensive care that approaches the patient as a whole and all of their needs, not just the medical and physical ones.
The patient's physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs are addressed.
"I would say that the most important thing for us is really being able to give families and patients the opportunity to make the most of the time that they have left," Chandelle Carter said.
How long do patients survive in hospice care?
As reported by the American Cancer Society, hospice care should be used when a person is expected to live about six months or less if the illness runs its usual course. According to the National Institutes of Health, most patients die within six months after entering hospice. However, there is a small portion of patients who live longer because of the gentle care.
Hospice care can be provided to these patients as long as their doctor and hospice care team confirm that the condition remains life-limiting.
What is provided to a family who has loved ones in hospice care?
When a patient receives hospice care, comprehensive care is also offered to the entire family, according to Chandelle Carter.
Hospice care teams provide support and education to the family throughout the end-of-life process they experience with loved ones to help them cope.
Resources such as care coordination, grief counseling and bereavement counseling are offered to families.
Hospice Atlanta provides anticipatory grief care for people with family in hospice care and bereavement counseling for families who have lost loved ones in hospice care.
"I want to make sure that I'm able to give people a lot of education on what grief really is, how to manage their grief and, you know, healthy grief versus unhealthy grief," Chandelle Carter said.
To learn more about hospice care, click here.