Chief of Staff: Bush Getting Excellent Treatment George H.W. Bush's chief of staff says the former president is getting excellent medical treatment in Houston and that he would ask that people "put the harps back in the closet." But Bush's longtime Houston chief of staff Jean Becker says in a statement released Thursday evening the 88-year-old Bush is sick and likely will be in the hospital for a while after a "terrible case of bronchitis which then triggered a series of complications." She also urges people keep him and his family in prayers. Bush has been in intensive care since Sunday. He was admitted to Methodist Hospital Nov. 23.