Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has entered hospice care at home in Plains, Georgia, the Carter Center announced Friday. She and President Carter are spending time with each other and their family. The Carter family continues to ask for privacy and remains grateful for the outpouring of love and support, Jason Carter, the Carters’ grandson, said in the statement released by the Center. In May, the Center announced that the former first lady had been diagnosed with dementia. Additional details about the 96-year-old’s health were not immediately provided Friday. Rosalynn Carter, he said at the time, was cognizant of her diagnosis and had signed off on the press release in which it was announced.
The longest-married presidential couple, the Carters marked their 77th wedding anniversary in July. A humanitarian and mental health advocate, Rosalynn Carter founded the Carter Center with her husband in his post-presidency in hopes of advancing world peace and health.
Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of the Carters, previously told CNN that the former president trusted his wife “above and beyond everybody else.” “Rosalynn has always been that trusted adviser that is selfless. He knows for sure that she is looking out for others. And I don’t know if President Carter would have been president without Rosalynn,” Stuckey said.
The couple recently made a surprise visit to the Plains Peanut Festival in Plains, Georgia, ahead of the former president’s 99th birthday. Speaking on his grandparents’ health in a People Magazine interview published in August, Josh Carter reflected that “it’s clear we’re in the final chapter.”
President Joe Biden has been advised of the couple’s health in recent months. The president and first lady Dr. Jill Biden have “stayed in touch” with the former president’s team to “ensure that their family knows that they are certainly in the president and first lady’s thoughts,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing following announcement of Carter’s dementia diagnosis.
This story has been updated with additional details. CNN’s Shania Shelton, Paul LeBlanc and Stephen Collinson contributed to this report.