Another clinic cited for violations

By Mary Manning

Thursday, March 13, 2008 | 6:38 p.m.

Another Las Vegas clinic had been cited by state inspectors for violations that include failure to clean equipment used in endoscopies, employees failing to wear proper gloves and masks during procedures and failing to change cleaning containers between patients.

Digestive Disease Specialists, a clinic that bid on a lucrative contract at University Medical Center at the same time Dr. Dipak Desai did, was cited by the Bureau of Licensure and Certification after investigators visited the clinic on Feb. 13, 2008.

Desai is the focus of federal, state and county investigations into his clinic, Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada at 700 Shadow Lane, after six patients there contracted hepatitis C.

The violations at Digestive Disease Specialists also include failure to keep records, including tuberculosis tests on employees and whether they had had physical exams as required by state law.

In one instance, state investigators watched as part of an endoscope stuck out of the disinfectant on Feb. 13. A technician told the state team that quarterly bacteria cultures "always came back negative."

But a charge nurse reported that she was aware of at least one positive culture in the past.

Digestive Disease Specialists lost a bid for the UMC contract to Desai. Although Desai's offer was twice as expensive, both proposal costs much more than previous contracts. Desai renegotiated his contract with the hospital for nearly $1 million annually to direct the hospital's gastoenterology department.