Former president Jimmy Carter chose to receive hospice care at home for “his remaining time” after a stay at the hospital, Carter Center said Saturday.
“After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at 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 Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers,” the organization said in a statement.
The 98-year-old former president—whose full name is James Earl Carter, Jr.—founded the Carter Center, a not-for-profit charity organization, in 1982.
He became the 39th U.S. president when he defeated former President Gerald R. Ford in 1976.
He won the 1976 presidential election after beginning the campaign as a little-known, one-term Georgia governor. His surprise performance in the Iowa caucuses established the small, Midwestern state as an epicenter of presidential politics. Carter went on to defeat Ford in the general election, largely on the strength of sweeping the South before his native region shifted heavily to Republicans.
He served a single term and was defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980.
In August 2015, Carter had a small cancerous mass removed from his liver. The following year, Carter announced that he needed no further treatment, as an experimental drug had eliminated any sign of cancer.
The news from Carter Center drew praises and prayers.
“President Jimmy Carter has lived a life of exceptional character and service. Terese and I wish him comfort and peace in the days ahead, and send our prayers to him and to the entire Carter family,” Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) wrote in a social media post.
Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J.) praised the former president as “the model of kindness, generosity, and decency.”
