Jimmy Carter's long goodbye

[Velar Fricative]

Somehow he still keeps defying the odds of, well, everything. He reached one year in hospice care this past Sunday.

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[icedcoffee]

I thought he'd go shortly after Rosalynn.

[melissa]

I watched the funeral for his wife and he really didn't look good. I really wonder about his quality of life at this point.

[ECB]

Wow. I always see hospice as really close to end of life. I hope his quality of life is decent.

[wanderingback]

Feb 20, 2024 19:03:35 GMT -5 ECB said:

Wow. I always see hospice as really close to end of life. I hope his quality of life is decent.

I think one problem in this country is that people utilize hospice care way too late. In residency I did some time with hospice and we had several people who seemed similar to Jimmy Carter with no specific fatal diagnosis like cancer or dementia, just old age. So in those cases it can be definitely hard to predict if they’ll live less than 6 months but hospice is totally appropriate to make it clear that will not be undergoing any further life saving/extending measures. I also think it gives a more clear picture to the family and supports them through the end of life process much better.

[maudefindlay]

Feb 20, 2024 19:03:35 GMT -5 ECB said:

Wow. I always see hospice as really close to end of life. I hope his quality of life is decent.

It depends on the setting too. Our local inpatient hospice admits people who are likely 1 week or less. Our home health hospice is more like 6 months. Hospice in the local nursing homes can vary, but tend longer.

[mcppalmbeach]

Feb 20, 2024 19:03:35 GMT -5 ECB said:

Wow. I always see hospice as really close to end of life. I hope his quality of life is decent.

I worked at our local Hospice for a short period of time and the criteria was a diagnosis of six months, but there were also exceptions to that allowed. Many people lived longer than that, there was one patient who came in and off Hospice multiple times.

[basilosaurus]

Feb 20, 2024 19:57:27 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Feb 20, 2024 19:03:35 GMT -5 ECB said:

Wow. I always see hospice as really close to end of life. I hope his quality of life is decent.

I think one problem in this country is that people utilize hospice care way too late. In residency I did some time with hospice and we had several people who seemed similar to Jimmy Carter with no specific fatal diagnosis like cancer or dementia, just old age. So in those cases it can be definitely hard to predict if they’ll live less than 6 months but hospice is totally appropriate to make it clear that will not be undergoing any further life saving/extending measures. I also think it gives a more clear picture to the family and supports them through the end of life process much better.

I agree with this. I also did a residency in hospice. It was usually 4 days.

But I think the official standard is 6 months expectation, and you're required to document decline every week. I don't think people utilize it early enough when they and their family could get resources.

I will praise all day every day hospice. It's affected my family very positivity many ways. But a year is not crazy if you document decline.

My grandpa definitely declined after my gramma. He still lasted 2 years. They were literally in the cradle together. So I see my grandpa in Carter. Lost his love, still puts a rose on her pillow every night, and for whatever reason he's holding on, I cannot criticize.