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Rivers died on Sept. 4 at the age of 81 in a New York
hospital a week after her heart stopped during the outpatient
procedure at the Yorkville Endoscopy center on Manhattan's Upper
East Side.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS), the agency
that released the report, said there was no record that staff at
the center weighed the comedian before administering the
sedative Propofol on Aug. 28 and there were inconsistencies
recorded in the dosage of the drug.
It also said there were no records of medical consent for all
the procedures performed. The report added that a doctor who was
in the operating room was there without authorization and said
physicians also failed to detect her deteriorating vital signs
during the procedures.
Melissa Rivers, the comedian's only child, said in a statement
Monday that she is "outraged by the misconduct and
mismanagement" that occurred and will ensure it does not happen
again with any other patient.
Her lawyers are investigating the circumstances surrounding her
mother's death.
The CMS released the report following an investigation by the
New York State Department of Health, which questioned doctors
and staff and examined records at the clinic.
"The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) does not
comment on information contained in a facility's statement of
deficiencies," it said it a statement after releasing its
report.
No one was immediately available at Yorkville Endoscopy to
comment on the report.
The New York Chief Medical Examiner's Office said Rivers died of
a predictable complication during a medical procedure and lack
of oxygen to the brain.
The CMS said another unannounced survey will be conducted at the
clinic and if corrections are made and it is in substantial
compliance it will not face termination of federal Medicare and
Medicaid funding.
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Mary Milliken and Lisa
Shumaker)
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Clinic
that treated Joan Rivers cited for multiple failings
