WASHINGTON — Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has entered hospice care at home in Plains, Georgia, the Carter Center announced Friday.
The center said the 96-year-old is at home with former President Jimmy Carter, now 99. The Carter family said through the statement that they are “grateful for the outpouring of love and support.”
The former president entered hospice care at home in February. The family announced earlier this year that the former first lady is suffering from dementia.
WHAT IS HOSPICE CARE?
Hospice care is treatment designed to make patients comfortable and to reduce pain and suffering in their final days. It is usually home-based, but can also be provided in nursing homes, hospitals and hospice centers. It is reserved for those declared by two physicians to be terminally ill, with six months or less to live.
The average time spent in hospice is about three weeks, said Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer at the American Cancer Society.
HOW ARE HOSPICE PATIENTS CARED FOR?
Care may include medicine, but only to reduce symptoms, not with the intent to cure any illness.
Patients are typically cared for by family members, with supervision from hospice doctors, nurses and social workers. Much of the focus is on making sure family caretakers feels supported, Kamal said.
The team “addresses everything from physical symptoms to emotional distress, helping think through logistics related to burials, wills and advanced care planning,” he said.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR HOSPICE CARE?
Under Medicare rules, patients may enroll in hospice if they meet certain criteria depending on their illness. For example, cancer patients must be unable to perform at least two usual activities of daily living without help, such as eating or dressing, with other challenges that may include evidence that the disease has spread widely and their health is declining despite treatment.
Modeled after U.K. programs, the hospice movement got its start in the United States in the late 1970s during Carter’s presidency.