Former President Bill Clinton leaves hospital following blood infection

(ORANGE, Calif.) — Former President Bill Clinton is out of this hospital after being hospitalized on Tuesday with a blood infection, the hospital said in a statement.

“President Clinton was discharged from UC Irvine Medical Center today. His fever and white blood cell count are normalized and he will return home to New York to finish his course of antibiotics,” Dr. Alpesh N. Amin, Chair, Department of Medicine and Executive Director, Hospital Medicine at UC Irvine Health, said in a statement Sunday. “On behalf of everyone at UC Irvine Medical Center, we were honored to have treated him and will continue to monitor his progress.”

Former President Clinton left the hospital Sunday with Hillary Clinton.

He was admitted to a California hospital on Tuesday for an infection, according to a spokesperson.

“On Tuesday, President Clinton was admitted to UCI Medical Center to receive treatment for a non-COVID-related infection,” Angel Ureña, spokesperson for Clinton, said in a statement Thursday. “He is on the mend, in good spirits and is incredibly thankful to the doctors, nurses, and staff providing him with excellent care.”

An aide said that Clinton arrived on the West Coast, his first trip there after COVID travel restrictions, feeling “overly fatigued.” The aide said that Clinton was diagnosed with a urological infection that transformed into a broader infection, but the prognosis was “good.”

“In fact, he’s been up and about, reading, texting, and joking and charming the hospital staff,” the aide said.

Clinton has had a number of health issues over the past two decades, though most related to heart problems. He had a quadruple bypass surgery in September 2004 and two coronary stents placed in his heart in February 2010. He also underwent surgery for a collapsed lung in 2005.

Clinton’s doctors at UCI Medical Center in Orange, California, further elaborated on the former president’s health in a statement.

“President Clinton was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center and diagnosed with an infection. He was admitted to the hospital for close monitoring and administered IV antibiotics and fluids,” Amin and Lisa Bardack said in the statement Thursday. “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,” the statement continued. “We hope to have him go home soon.”

Clinton, 75, served as president from January 1993 to January 2001.

He won the race for governor of Arkansas in 1978 at just 32 years old, though he lost in his bid for a second term. He then served again as governor from 1983 to 1992, when he rallied to earn the Democratic nomination for president. He faced off against incumbent George H.W. Bush, defeating him comfortably to become the first Democrat in office since Jimmy Carter.

He cruised to the White House again in 1996, defeating Bob Dole and third-party candidate Ross Perot.

Much of his second term, however, was dominated by the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The salacious details of the president’s affair with the intern led to his impeachment in December 1998, but he was acquitted in the Senate.

Before President Donald Trump was impeached twice, Clinton was the last president to be impeached and only other president outside of Andrew Jackson to earn the ignominious vote.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect comments from Clinton’s doctors and aides.

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