Former President Jimmy Carter is receiving hospice care at his home after a series of hospitalizations.
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The Carter Center, a charity the 98-year-old helped found, put out a statement Saturday saying Carter “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 statement said.
In the recent past, Carter dealt with a bout of skin cancer that spread to his internal organs. It had also been reported that he was hospitalized a number of times for falls over the last few years.
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During his presidency, Carter faced his share of challenges.
Inflation dogged the nation. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, held back supply, which led to record gas prices and long lines for gas domestically.
On an international level, Carter was instrumental in negotiating the Camp David Accords, a peace deal that established relations between Israel and Egypt that largely still exist today.
Perhaps his most memorable challenge was the 1979 Iranian revolution – a fundamental misunderstanding by U.S. intelligence of what was happening on the ground. It culminated with American hostages being taken by Iranian revolutionaries. Ultimately, the hostages were released on the last day of Carter’s presidency.
After his time in office, he established the Carter Center in 1982, making its mission to spread democracy and human rights globally.
The former president has also become synonymous with Habitat for Humanity and partnered with the nonprofit to build homes all over the world for impoverished people.
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On the diplomacy front, he has been one of the most high-profile, unofficial U.S. ambassadors, often stepping in and helping to negotiate and mitigate international crises between the U.S. and some foreign adversaries, such as North Korea and Libya.
