Mourning a Hospice Advocate: VITAS® Healthcare Honors the Carter Legacy

MIAMI, Dec. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — VITAS Healthcare joins the Carter family and all Americans in mourning the death of former President Jimmy Carter, 39^th president of the United States. As a champion for healthcare and humanitarian causes, President Carter leaves a legacy of compassion, integrity and service that will encourage future generations.

The Carter family’s decision to publicly announce their election for hospice care raised awareness about its benefits and the importance of accessing end-of-life care early in a serious illness. In 2023 alone, more than 1.7 million Medicare beneficiaries nationwide chose hospice for compassionate, dignified care, according to MedPAC.

“President Carter’s journey with hospice over the last 22 months has been an inspiration to American households,” said Nick Westfall, VITAS chairman and chief executive officer. “His family’s transparency has sparked dialogue across the country about what hospice is and what it can be, encouraging more families to discuss their care preferences openly and seek earlier referrals to hospice when appropriate.”

Key lessons learned from President Carter’s end-of-life journey:

• Hospice is a choice, and advance care planning is a gift. Discussing and documenting goals and wishes allows patients to articulate care preferences, easing the burden on loved ones.
• Hospice is not only for the final days. It focuses on comfort, symptom management and support for patients with a life expectancy of six months or less, regardless of timeframe.
• Choosing hospice does not mean giving up hope. It shifts focus from curative treatment to comfort, tailored to maintain quality of life care.
• The hospice journey is unique. Each patient’s needs and symptoms differ, and lengths of stay vary significantly.

President Carter’s early enrollment in hospice care allowed him to fully benefit from the comprehensive support and services for nearly two years. By identifying his end-of-life goals and wishes well in advance, he demonstrated that hospice can provide months of comfort, symptom management and family support, maximizing quality of life.

Research by NORC at the University of Chicago shows that longer hospice stays lead to better outcomes, including higher patient satisfaction, better pain control and fewer hospitalizations. Patients receive holistic care from an interdisciplinary team trained in comfort, symptom relief and emotional support, ensuring dignity during life’s final chapter.

The hospice community is grateful for President Carter’s advocacy and his efforts to improve healthcare access for all Americans.

To learn more about advance care planning, download the free “Thinking About Hospice” discussion guide for families.

A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link.

About VITAS^® Healthcare 
Established in 1978, VITAS Healthcare is a pioneer and leader in the American hospice movement. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, VITAS (pronounced VEE-tahs) operates 55 hospice programs in 15 states (Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia. VITAS employs 11,679 professionals who care for patients with advanced illness, primarily in the patients’ homes, and also in the company’s 27 inpatient hospice units as well as in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living communities/residential care facilities for the elderly. At the conclusion of the third quarter of 2024, VITAS reported an average daily census of 21,977. Visit www.vitas.com.

Media inquiries contact: media@vitas.com, 877-848-2701