Jimmy Carter reaches his 100th birthday after 19 months of hospice care

Jimmy Carter has turned 100, reaching a once-unthinkable milestone more than 19 months after entering hospice care.

The 39th President of the United States, the oldest living former president and longest-living president in U.S. history, has certainly made the most of the past century.

Whether through his military service, his foreign policy contributions as president, his diplomatic efforts, his Sunday school teaching or his volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity well into his 90s, Carter always sought to make a meaningful impact.

“I only had one life to live, and I wanted to live it as a civilian, with potentially broader opportunities for varied public service,” he wrote in his 2010 memoir: White House Diary.

Carter, who has been cared for in the hospice since February 2023, is currently hoping to achieve one last goal before he dies. According to his grandson Jason Carter, the former president recently stated, “I’m just trying to vote for Kamala Harris,” the newspaper reports Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Although he made a rare public appearance at his late wife Rosalynn Carter’s funeral last November, Carter is “physically limited” and spends his time at home with his loved ones.

“This is an important part of his faith journey that you can’t experience at any other time in your life except at the very end,” Jason told PEOPLE last September, a few months after his grandfather entered hospice care . “In that respect, I think this was a really meaningful time for him, and it was a really contemplative time for him.”

In September, several stars and their loved ones gathered in Atlanta for a tribute concert organized in honor of the former president’s milestone birthday.

The event, titled “Jimmy Carter 100: A Celebration in Song,” featured Chuck Leavell, D-Nice, Drive-By Truckers, Eric Church, GROUPLOVE, Maren Morris, The War And Treaty and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Choir.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer.

Jason, who chairs the Carter Center, sat down with PEOPLE at the concert to get an update on his grandfather’s health.

“I mean, he’s been in hospice for over 19 months now and his physical condition is severely weakened and he can’t do much on his own anymore,” Jason told PEOPLE. “But he’s emotionally invested and still having experiences and laughing and loving.”

As part of his birthday celebration on October 1, the tribute concert will be broadcast on Georgia Public Broadcasting, where President Carter is expected to watch.