Former U.S. President Carter hospitalized for urinary tract infection

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has been hospitalized near his home in Georgia for treatment of a urinary tract infection, his spokeswoman says. It follows a series of incidents which sent the former president to hospital at least four times.

Deanna Congileo, the former president’s spokeswoman, said on Monday that 95-year-old Carter was admitted to Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia, over the weekend. “He is feeling better and looks forward to returning home soon,” she said.

Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, where Carter teaches Sunday school, said the former president would not be teaching on December 8 and December 22 to focus on his recovery. His niece Kim Fuller will be filling in for him, the church said.

Carter was hospitalized three times this year after falling at his home in Plains, which led to bleeding and pressure on his brain that required surgery on November 12. And in 2015, the former president underwent surgery to remove a tumor in his liver and he was treated for spots of melanoma on his brain.

Carter, a Democrat, served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was awarded the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his work through the Carter Center. The former president is well-known for his charity work and peace efforts since leaving the White House.

In March, Carter became the longest-living president in U.S. history, surpassing the record held by President George H.W. Bush, who died in November 2018 at the age of 94. Carter, who was born in 1924, turned 95 on October 1.