Hospice and Jimmy Carter's Legacy

This February, as the nation commemorated Presidents’ Day, we also marked a significant milestone for one of our leaders: Jimmy Carter, the country’s oldest living former president at 99, has now spent more than a year in hospice care.

Through that time, Carter has shown us the value of hospice and what it can mean to end life well.

His decision reflects a profound perspective on life’s final stages, prioritizing quality over quantity and recognizing dying as a natural process in which the body gradually ceases to function.

Hospice provides guidance through that transition, with an emphasis on comfort and dignity.

Carter’s extended time in hospice has offered benefits beyond the support he and his loved ones receive from a caregiving team trained in comfort and quality of life. It has also expanded the public conversation about what it means to end well.

Ending Well Is Rarely Taught in Medical School

Western medicine is oriented toward keeping people alive. For the most part, it should be.

What medical students are rarely taught is how to care for someone who is dying or how to recognize the different stages of the dying process.

Symptoms that may indicate the body has begun naturally shutting down are often treated as separate medical emergencies. The result can be costly and painful interventions that do little to improve a person’s quality of life.

End Well believes that everyone should be able to experience the end of life in a way that reflects their values and goals.

When we overmedicalize dying, we deprive people of that possibility.

That is why one of our central goals is to advocate for hospice and for the inclusion of palliative and end-of-life care in the education of every medical student.

A deeper understanding of dying can help healthcare professionals guide patients and families toward decisions that reflect their values, preferences, goals, and overall well-being.

For President Carter, that included being present for his wife, Rosalynn Carter, through her death in November.

Accepting That Life Is Limited

“He was really honored and glad that he made it to the end with my grandmother, and that was a real treasure for him.”

— Jason Carter, grandson of Jimmy Carter and chairman of the Carter Center board

Jimmy Carter is a man known for his deep faith in both God and practicality.

His experience has helped show us that accepting life’s limits can allow us to make more of the time that remains.

It may even help us live longer in the process.