Joan Rivers’ Clinic Will Retain Federal Accreditation

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — The clinic on Manhattan’s Upper East Side where Joan Rivers went into cardiac arrest has avoided losing its federal accreditation for now.

Yorkville Endoscopy had until Wednesday night to make improvements after federal and state health investigators found deficiencies in the practice. The clinic succeeded, according to a letter that an arm of the Department of Health and Human Services sent to the clinic.

The letter, obtained by ABC News, informed the clinic that its certification will remain intact pending one final inspection at an unspecified future date.

Yorkville Endoscopy came under fire after an investigation by New York State Health Department following Rivers’ death uncovered deficiencies in four categories. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services then found that staff members photographed her with a cellphone while she was sedated, improperly documented how much of the sedative propofol was used, and “failed to identify deteriorating vital signs and provide timely intervention during the procedure.”

The comedian’s daughter, Melissa Rivers, has since hired attorneys Jeffrey B. Bloom and Ben Rubinowitz to further look into the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death.

After the inspections’ initial finding were released, the lawyers issued a statement saying, “Our client, Melissa Rivers, is terribly disappointed to learn of the multiple failings on the part of medical personnel and the clinic as evidenced by the CMS report. As any of us would be, Ms. Rivers is outraged by the misconduct and mismanagement now shown to have occurred before, during and after the procedure. Moving forward, Ms. Rivers will direct her efforts towards ensuring that what happened to her mother will not occur again with any other patient.”

Melissa Rivers did not immediately respond to Thursday’s accreditation announcement.

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