ATLANTA, GA: Former President Jimmy Carter prior to the game between the Atlanta Falcons and the … [+]
Seven months after deciding to opt for hospice care at his modest, long-time home in Plains, Georgia, former President Jimmy Carter is still very much with us today. He celebrated his 99th birthday on Sunday. In what is Carter’s final chapter in life, he’s leaving behind a lasting legacy of raising awareness for the importance and dignity of hospice care.
Among his many accomplishments, President Carter may be best known for brokering the Camp David accords, which brought peace between Israel and Egypt in 1978.
But equally important are his post-presidency achievements. Carter and his wife Rosalynn founded the Carter Center in 1982. For more than four decades, this organization has dedicated itself to resolving conflicts, advancing democracy and human rights, improving mental healthcare and preventing and eradicating diseases that primarily affect the poor.
Moreover, Carter has worked closely with the nonprofit organization Habitat for Humanity, building homes for low-income people. Well into his 80s and 90s, Carter took a hands-on approach, drilling and nailing pieces of wood together and constructing foundations of bricks and mortar. He did this in the U.S. and in far-flung corners of the world.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter builds a home for the poor during a Habitat for Humanity project … [+]
And now, as he marks his eighth month in hospice care, the healthcare provider community is saluting the former President for setting an example that will prompt millions of Americans to learn more about this dignified form of end-of-life care.
Hospice care is designed to provide comfort and support to individuals who are nearing the end of their lives. They may have run out of viable treatment options. Or, they’re simply no longer choosing to have interventionist care. Hospice is void of modern healthcare equipment and therapeutics, for the most part. Accordingly, there’s a shift from curing or treating illnesses to providing symptomatic relief and comfort.
Palliative care, for example, consists of an interdisciplinary approach to caregiving that aims at optimizing quality of life, particularly among people with terminal illnesses.
Hospice care providers work closely with patients and their families to develop customized care plans. These plans address each individual’s unique needs, preferences and objectives, and they incorporate medical, emotional, spiritual and social support services.
Such care can be offered in a variety of settings, including hospitals, nursing homes and, often preferably, private homes.
Usually hospice is indicated when a patient’s life expectancy is six months or less, though it can begin before this time period. Unfortunately, many patients and caregivers wait until the final days of life to involve hospice. Electing hospice sooner would have allowed for more time for patients to focus on what matters most to them with the time they have left to live.
Ultimately, the goal of hospice care is to allow people to end their life journeys on their own terms.
Carter’s decision to enter home hospice and make this public is becoming yet another defining aspect of his legacy. By doing so, he has sparked a national conversation about the role of hospice, and how it can help patients live out their end of life to the fullest.
Interestingly, the federal payment model demonstration that led to the founding of the Medicare Hospice Benefit began during Carter’s term as president.
The forerunner to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Health Care Financing Administration, launched a so-called demonstration project in 1979 with 26 providers in 16 states to establish a clear definition of hospice as well as assess the cost-effectiveness of those services.
As a by-product, hospice care saves money for the healthcare system as a whole. Recent evidence shows that healthcare costs in the last year of life can be cut by as much as 11%, according to a joint report from the University of Chicago and the National Association for Home Care and Hospice.
By choosing hospice, Carter has helped a wider swath of the population better understand what hospice is. Given that only 50% of eligible Medicare beneficiaries are currently taking advantage of this option, it’s important to draw attention to its existence, especially to address misconceptions around hospice care.