Jimmy Carter enters hospice care. What is it?

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter entered home hospice care in Plains, Georgia, after a series of short hospital stays.

The Carter Center said in a statement Saturday that Carter, 98, “decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention.”

WHAT IS HOSPICE CARE?

Hospice care is treatment designed to make patients comfortable and to reduce pain and suffering in their final days. It is usually home-based, but can also be provided in nursing homes, hospitals and hospice centers. It is reserved for those declared by two physicians to be terminally ill, with six months or less to live.