George H.W. Bush hospitalized with broken neck bone after falling

Former President George H.W. Bush talks with Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at Bush's office on March 29, 2012 in Houston, Texas.  (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Credit: Tom Pennington

Credit: Tom Pennington

Former President George H.W. Bush talks with Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at Bush's office on March 29, 2012 in Houston, Texas.  (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)


Former President George H.W. Bush was hospitalized Wednesday morning after falling at home and breaking a bone in his neck, spokesman Jim McGrath said.

McGrath said the injury was not life-threatening and Bush is in stable condition at a Portland, Maine, hospital. McGrath said the 41st president will be in a neck brace.

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Bush, 91, is the oldest living former U.S. president. He served two terms as Ronald Reagan's vice president before being elected the nation's 41st president in 1988. After one term highlighted by the success of the 1991 Gulf War in Kuwait he lost to Democrat Bill Clinton amid voters' concerns about the economy.

Bush was hospitalized in Houston in December for about a week for treatment of shortness of breath. He said he was "grateful to the doctors and nurses for their superb care" after his treatment there.

"We are not expecting a long stay," McGrath told CNN.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.