The Upper East Side clinic where Joan Rivers stopped breathing may lose its license over the botched procedure that eventually killed the comedian, state health officials said.
A New York State Health Department investigation into Yorkville Endoscopy, where Rivers underwent a routine procedure in August, found faults in four categories required for federal accreditation: governing body and management, surgical services, medical staff and patient rights, ABC News reported.
The clinic’s accreditation will be terminated Jan. 7, 2015, if it can’t verify it’s corrected the lapses, the state Health Department said.
“Yorkville Endoscopy LLC no longer meets the requirements for participation as a supplier of services in the Medicare program,” said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a subsidiary of the Health Department which certifies ambulatory surgery facilities.
Rivers went in on Aug. 28 for what was supposed to be a routine examination to determine the cause of her hoarseness and acid reflux.
Instead, her personal doctor and clinic head Dr. Lawrence Cohen performed a biopsy after discovering a polyp-like growth, sources said.
The 81-year-old went into cardiac arrest during the procedure and died a week later.
Her cause of death was ruled a “therapeutic complication” from brain damage caused by lack of oxygen, the medical examiner announced Thursday.
The investigation, which began a day after her death, closed Oct. 9.
