WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was treated at a hospital Wednesday after becoming dehydrated while helping to build houses in Canada for Habitat for Humanity.
The 92-year-old former president known for his post-presidential humanitarian work was taken to a hospital in Winnipeg as a precaution for rehydration, spokeswoman Deanna Congileo said.
Habitat’s CEO Jonathan Reckford said the former president was “dehydrated working in the hot sun” at a build site in Winnipeg. Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, are in the middle of a project building houses in various Canadian cities.
“President Carter told us he is OK and is being taken offsite for observation,” Reckford said. “He encourages everyone to stay hydrated and keep building.”
Habitat for Humanity said any further updates would come from The Carter Center in Atlanta.
The Carters are prominent backers of the Atlanta-based building charity. This week’s project building houses in several Canadian communities is the 34th time the Carters have pitched in on Habitat projects, lending a hand and their name to promote the work.
Carter was diagnosed with melanoma that spread to his brain in 2015 but announced in March of the following year that he no longer needed treatment. Carter continued to volunteer for Habitat while being treated for cancer, working alongside volunteers at a home in Memphis in November 2015.