Former President Bill Clinton, 78, was admittted to Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. on Monday after developing a fever.
Angel Ureña, the former president’s chief of staff, said Clinton “has been admitted to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital for testing and observation after developing a fever. The former president “remains in good spirits and deeply appreciates the excellent care he is receiving,” Ureña added.
The hospitalization was not an urgent matter. The president went to the hospital as a precautionary measure. One source told NBC News that “The former president willb e fine. He developed a fever and wanted to be checked out. He is awake and alert.”
Clinton has faced several health challenges over the past two decades after leaving office. He underwent a quadruple bypass surgery in 2004 and the placement of two coronary stents in 2010.
In 2021, Clinton was admited to the University of California Irvine Medical Center’s intensive care unit after he contracted a urinary tract infection.
Former President Bill Clinton was admitted to the University of California Irvine Medical Center’s intensive care unit for a urinary tract infection that spread to his bloodstream, his doctors told CNN on Thursday.
“He was admitted to the ICU for close monitoring and administered IV antibiotics and fluids. He remains at the hospital for continuous monitoring,” according to a joint statement Thursday evening from Dr. Alpesh Amin, chair of medicine at UC Irvine Medical Center, and Dr. Lisa Bardack, Clinton’s personal primary physician. They said that Clinton was in the ICU for privacy and safety, not because he needs intensive care.
Clinton has been in good spirits, talking to family and staff, and has been up and walking, according to both his doctors and his staff. The 42nd President is annoyed that he has to be in the hospital but is chatting and joking, a spokesperson, Angel Urena, said. He has two books with him, including Colson Whitehead’s “Harlem Shuffle,” and Hillary Clinton visited with him Friday.
Despite his health issues, Clinton has remained active in American politics. He hit the campaign trail to gin up support for Vice President Kamala Harris’ unsuccessful bid for the presidency. During a November interview with CBS News, he explained that her loss was a result of the country moving to the right.
I asked, "Do you think part of the issue is that America is just not ready for a female president?"
"Maybe," Clinton replied. "I think in some ways we've moved to the right as a reaction to all the turmoil. And I think if Hillary had been nominated in 2008, she would've walked in, just like Obama did."
"Has the country changed?"
"Well, I think all these cultural battles that we're fighting make it harder in some ways for a woman to run."
"So, you think it has more to do with party than gender?"
"No," he said. "Although I think it would probably be easier for a conservative Republican woman to win."
"Than a Democrat woman?"
"Uh-huh. Because, I mean, that's what Maggie Thatcher did," said Clinton. "But I still think we'll have a female president pretty soon."
The former president recently published a book detailing his life as a private citizen after leaving the White House in 2001.