Former President Bill Clinton remained hospitalized Friday at UC Irvine Medical Center, where he was being treated for a “non-COVID-related infection” that doctors said was being addressed with antibiotics and fluids.
His overall prognosis appears good, with doctors saying they hope to discharge him soon. His spokesman told various media outlets Friday that the former president was “up and about, joking and charming the hospital staff.”
Clinton also received a phone call from President Joe Biden.
“President Biden spoke by phone with President Clinton this afternoon,” White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “President Biden and President Clinton look forward to seeing each other again soon. President Biden wishes President Clinton a speedy recovery.”
According to Clinton spokesman Angel Ureña, the former president was admitted to UCI Medical Center Tuesday evening “to receive treatment for a non-Covid-related infection. He is on the mend, in good spirits and is incredibly thankful to the doctors, nurses and staff providing him with excellent care.”
In a joint statement, Clinton’s doctors — Dr. Alpesh Amin and Dr. Lisa Bardack — expressed confidence he would be sent home soon.
“President Clinton was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center and diagnosed with an infection,” they said. “He was admitted to the hospital for close monitoring and administered IV antibiotics and fluids. He remains at the hospital for continuous monitoring.
“After two days of treatment, his white blood cell count is trending down and he is responding to antibiotics well. The California-based medical team has been in constant communication with the president’s New York-based medical team, including his cardiologist. We hope to have him go home soon.”
According to various reports, Clinton was admitted to the intensive care unit for treatment of a urinary tract infection that had spread to his bloodstream. He was treated in the ICU more out of privacy than the nature of the illness.
Doctors said Clinton would be receiving IV antibiotics until Friday, when they hoped to switch him to oral antibiotics.
Clinton, 75, was the 42nd president of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. The Democrat previously served as governor and attorney general of Arkansas.
Clinton was in the Southland to attend events on behalf of his charitable foundation. Various reports indicated that Clinton’s wife, Hillary, attended a local event Thursday night on his behalf. The former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate was spotted at the hospital later Thursday night.
Dr. David Agus, a professor of medicine at USC Keck School of Medicine and a CBS News medical contributor, said he had spoken to Clinton’s doctors, who said the former president became ill while attending a foundation fundraiser, experiencing nausea and vomiting. He was taken to the hospital, where doctors conducted a series of tests and detected the bacteria E.Coli in his urine, Agus told CBS News Friday morning.
Agus said doctors told him Clinton was doing “dramatically better,” and could potentially be released from the hospital over the weekend.
In 2004, the former president underwent quadruple bypass surgery. In 2010, he had a pair of stents inserted to open a clogged coronary artery.