Choosing Hospice and What that Means

A light has been shone on hospice since former President Jimmy Carter elected hospice care on February 18, 2023.

According to a statement made by the Carter Center, “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.”

This leaves many Americans with questions; what is hospice? Does this mean that President Carter is dying now? Since the announcement, many are remembering his life and legacy, and the positive influence he had on the world. And this is happening while he is still alive.

That is a great summary of what hospice is and means. There is a lot that goes into an end-of-life care decision, and it is a decision that should be thought out and planned for before that journey begins. There is the choice of the type of focused care one wants to receive during the journey at the end of life.

Generally, though every individual has a unique circumstance and medical history, to qualify for hospice services, a patient must have a terminal illness with an anticipated life expectancy of less than six months.

Medically, Hospice is choosing comfort care over curative care. Hospice is a focus on reducing physical pain and providing emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs for the patient and the family.

Beyond the medical scope of hospice services, electing hospice care means choosing comfort and quality of life, at the end of life. Some say it is making the most of what time remains – spending your final days, weeks, and/or months surrounded by loved ones and loving memories. It is a journey that allows you to process yours and your loved one’s transition at the end of life, while still being able to hug and smile with them.

In addition to the medical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs being addressed for the patient, support is provided to family and loved ones as well. There is a team of hospice professionals meant to surround the patient and the family with support on all fronts. Doctors, both the hospice medical director and the primary physician if they choose, will lead the team to determine an individual plan of care. Nurses will make visits and maintain pain and symptom relief. Certified Nursing Aides will visit to help with the activities of daily living, such as brushing teeth, baths, and more as needed. Social Workers will help with advanced care planning and funeral planning. Chaplains provide spiritual support, as needed. Volunteers provide additional non-clinical support, and bereavement coordinators will be with the family through the transition and up to 13 months after the loved one passes away.

A common misconception is that choosing hospice means you are actively dying. False. Choosing hospice means you are choosing to live out the rest of your life with the ones you love in the place you call home.

President Carter’s choice of hospice services means that he gets to cherish the time he has left, in a place he loves, surrounded by people he loves. THAT is Hospice.

For more information on the Carter Center or to read the full statement, visit CarterCenter.org.