CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Hospice of Southern West Virginia is shedding light on the benefits of hospice care as former President Jimmy Carter continues to receive that type of care at his home in George.
Chief Nursing Officer Landon Blankenship said there’s a misconception that hospice care speeds up the dying process.
“A lot of people when they look at hospice services, they think ‘oh, this is the end, we’re giving up and there’s no longer any hope’,” he said. “We like to think about it as people aren’t dying with a terminal illness. People are living with a terminal illness.”
The Carter Foundation announced over the weekend Carter, 98, wanted “to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention” after several hospital stays.
Blankenship called it “a gift” that the 39th president is able to cherish this time with loved ones given his old age.
“To be able to say ‘I realize I’m at the end of my life and there may be people that I want to talk to. There may be people I want to see. There may be things I want to personally give to my family members’,” he said.
By law, a patient on hospice care has to receive a home visit from a registered nurse at least every 14 days. Blankenship said this can really help the patient and their family caring for them.
“Suddenly someone finds themselves in a difficult position of not being able to go to the grocery store or not being able to go to the post office. Having a volunteer be able to sit with a patient one-on-one just so the family member can get a little bit of a break to do those essential things is very important,” he said.
Several needs are addressed when a patient is in hospice care including physical, psychological, social and spiritual, according to Blankenship. He said patients also feel more at peace.
“A patient will live about 28 days longer on hospice services than in a hospital receiving aggressive care,” he said. “We know that patients do better in a comfortable environment, which home, would be the most likely place that they would be.”
If symptoms become too difficult to manage, a person can receive inpatient hospice care at a facility.
Carter is the longest living president in U.S. history.