Joan Rivers Clinic Gets Extra 30 Days to Meet Federal Standards Before Losing Funding

A federal agency says it will give the Manhattan clinic where Joan Rivers suffered a fatal complication during a medical procedure an extra month to correct deficiencies in management and surgical services before it stops receiving funds for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

After Rivers' death in September, Yorkville Endoscopy Center was ordered to submit a corrective action plan or risk losing federal funding. Follow-up visits from New York State Department of Health investigators in December indicated continued non-compliance with federal regulations, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services said earlier this week, and the agency said it would revoke the facility's federal benefits at the end of the month.

Specifically, the center said Yorkville, which was cited for violating Rivers’ right to privacy when a staff member allegedly took cellphone pictures of her while she was sedated, had left medical records of patients out in plain view. Proper follow-up procedure was also not implemented in several cases where patients who had received anesthesia were discharged, the center said.

Yorkville said it would appeal the CMS decision, and the CMS said Friday it would extend the center's Medicare health benefits agreement with the federal government 30 days -- until March 2 -- at which time health investigators will visit the facility once more to assess compliance.

If investigators find Yorkville has made the necessary corrections and is in compliance with federal standards, it will no longer face losing funds for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.  

Yorkville acknowledged the CMS decision in a statement.

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