politics

Former President Bill Clinton Admitted to Hospital With Non-Covid Related Infection

Adam Jeffery | CNBC
  • Clinton's spokesman, Angel Urena, said late Thursday that the former president was admitted to UCI Medical Center in California.
  • Urena announced on Friday that "all health indicators are trending in the right direction" and that Clinton will remain in the hospital overnight to get further IV antibiotics.

Former President Bill Clinton was hospitalized Tuesday evening to receive treatment for a non-Covid related infection, according to his spokesman.

Clinton's spokesman, Angel Ureña, said late Thursday that the former president was admitted to UC Irvine Medical Center in California.

Ureña announced on Friday that "all health indicators are trending in the right direction" and that Clinton will remain in the hospital overnight to get further antibiotics.

"President Clinton continues to be in excellent spirits, and is deeply grateful for the outstanding care he is receiving and the well wishes that people have sent from across America and around the world," Ureña said.

Clinton's doctors said earlier in a joint statement that he was admitted to the hospital for "close monitoring" and administered IV antibiotics and fluids.

"He remains at the hospital for continuous monitoring," his doctors Alpesh Amin and Lisa Bardack said. "After two days of treatment, his white blood cell count is trending down and he is responding to antibiotics well."

They said that the California-based medical team has been in "constant communication" with the President's New York-based team, including his cardiologist.

"We hope to have him go home soon," they said in the statement.

President Joe Biden spoke over the phone with Clinton Friday afternoon, according to White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

"President Biden and President Clinton look forward to seeing each other again soon. President Biden wishes President Clinton a speedy recovery," Jean-Pierre said.

NBC News, citing a source close to Clinton, said the former president was in intensive care as a "precautionary measure" taken by the hospital to isolate him — not because it was required as part of his treatment. The original infection was diagnosed as urologic, but it turned into a broader one, said the source, according to the NBC report.

Clinton, who is 75, also has had a history of heart problems. In 2004, he underwent a quadruple heart bypass operation to relieve severely clogged arteries, according to NBC News. In 2010, he had another heart procedure to insert two stents to a coronary artery.

Correction: This article has been updated to correct the date that Clinton's spokesman announced the former president's hospitalization.

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