President George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is hospitalized in Houston. He served as the 41st President of the United States. Prior to that, he was Vice President in the Reagan Administration. REUTERS

Former President George H.W. Bush has been hospitalized in Houston’s Methodist Hospital for a week now because of a lingering cough.

The Houston Chronicle reported that the 88-year-old suffers from bronchitis, but his Chief of Staff Jean Becker said the condition is not believed to be life threatening.

“His big problem is a chronic cough he can't get rid of, so he's back at Methodist,” Becker said. "This is not a life-threatening illness."

Becker said they kept quiet about Bush’s hospitalization “out of respect for him” but disclosed that the hospital admitted Bush the day after Thanksgiving. This was after Bush made repeated visits to the hospital for a few weeks.

Bush’s son, former President George W. Bush, and his wife, Laura, paid him a visit Sunday.

Bush Sr. served as president from 1989 to 1993 and was two-term vice president under President Ronald Reagan.

George W. Bush