Joan Rivers, after one week in the intensive care unit, was transferred Wednesday to a private room in an effort to ensure the comatose comedian’s comfort. 
 
 The move was announced in a two-sentence statement from daughter Melissa Rivers, who flew in from California immediately after her 81-year-old mother’s Aug. 28 hospitalization. 
 
 “My mother...is being kept comfortable. Thank you for your continued support,” read the statement issued as Joan Rivers continued her fight for life at Mount Sinai Hospital for a seventh day. 
 
 While Melissa Rivers said nothing more about the move, doctors speculated it could signify her celebrated wisecracking mom was no longer receiving as much medical treatment. 
 
 “If she is off all life support and in a private room, and resting comfortably, it’s possible the family is waiting for nature to take its course,” said an emergency medicine doctor at a prominent New York hospital. 
 
 Rivers went on life support last weekend, and was placed in a medical coma prior to that. 
 
 Dr. Wendy Edwards, director of palliative medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital, said doctors and the Rivers family were likely trying to balance treatment and quality of life. 
 
 “When we say making people comfortable, it could just mean to stop doing things that add to discomfort,” said Edwards. 
 
 “Taking blood, frequently taking vital signs, taking them for X-rays — these things could add to a patient’s distress. 
 
 Joan Rivers was moved to a private room at Mount Sinai Hospital on Wednesday. She had been in the intensive care unit. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Fe) 
 
 “That’s just good medicine: Don’t do things that are not helpful.” 
 
 EMTs rushed the “Fashion Police” star to Mount Sinai after Rivers went into cardiac and respiratory arrest during a visit to her doctor. 
 
 She remains surrounded by family and friends as Melissa considers the options for her mother’s care. 
 
 Melissa, her mother’s only child, arrived in Manhattan last week with her 13-year-old son, Cooper. 
 
 Joan Rivers went into cardiac and respiratory arrest last week during a visit to her doctor. She was then taken to the hospital and put into a medical coma. (DAN STEINBERG/AP) 
 
 Sources told the Daily News that the best-case scenario at this point included months of rehabilitation that would keep the perpetually busy entertainer sidelined. 
 
 And a source close to the family had earlier told The News that legal action was possible against the Upper East Side clinic where Rivers nearly died during a routine throat procedure. 
 
 Doctors were trying to determine the extent of any brain damage suffered during the time when Rivers couldn’t breathe. 
 
 Melissa Rivers had earlier said that family and friends were “keeping our fingers crossed” that her mother could bounce back from her medical woes. 
 
 lmcshane@nydailynews.com ||||| Comedian Joan Rivers, five days after a near-fatal heart and lung failure, remained on life support Tuesday as her daughter, Melissa, stood vigil at her mom’s bedside. 
 
 Melissa Rivers issued a three-sentence statement that shed little new light on the situation — including the medical options going forward as the “Fashion Police�? host battles to stay alive. 
 
 Rivers went into cardiac and respiratory arrest during a doctor’s visit on Thursday, and medical machines have been keeping her alive since the weekend. 
 
 “On behalf of my mother and our family, we are extremely grateful for all the love and support we have received,�? Melissa Rivers said. 
 
 Rivers' assistant Graham Reed was seen getting into a taxicab Tuesday morning. (Marcus Santos/Daily News) Rivers was hospitalized at Mount Sinai Hospital on Thursday. (Richard Harbus/(Richard Harbus/for New York Dai) 
 
 “At this time, she does remain on life support. 
 
 “I know my mother would be overwhelmed by the continued outpouring of kindness and I want to thank everyone for keeping us in their prayers.�? 
 
 Rivers, 81, remained surrounded by family and friends in her room at Mount Sinai Hospital. Her grim-faced assistant, Graham Reed, left the hospital Tuesday morning without comment. 
 
 Several sources told the Daily News that if Rivers pulls through, she’s in for a rehab process that could take months or even years and would keep her out of the public eye. 
 
 A woman whose brother is hospitalized on the same floor as Joan Rivers said Melissa has gone out of her way to treat them nicely despite her own burden. 
 
 “It really affects her, what she’s going through,�? said the woman, who declined to give her name. “She’s hurting, and yet she took the time to really care for us — and she doesn’t even know us.�? 
 
 Joan Rivers (r.) with daughter Melissa Rivers, who has been by her mother’s side since she was hospitalized Thursday. (Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) Joan Rivers (l.) with daughter Melissa Rivers, who has been by her mother’s side since she was hospitalized Thursday. ( ERIC THAYER /REUTERS) 
 
 Doctors at Mount Sinai had initially placed Rivers into a medically induced coma as they began running tests on her. 
 
 The medical team hopes to get a read on any damage caused when Rivers stopped breathing last week at an Upper East Side clinic. Rivers was getting her throat checked out. 
 
 bpaddock@nydailynews.com ||||| (CNN) -- Comedian Joan Rivers is "resting comfortably" in a New York hospital after apparently suffering cardiac and respiratory arrest during a procedure at a medical clinic Thursday. 
 
 Her daughter, Melissa Rivers, issued a statement Thursday night after arriving at the hospital following a flight from Los Angeles. 
 
 "I want to thank everyone for the overwhelming love and support for my mother. She is resting comfortably and is with our family. We ask that you continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers," she said. 
 
 A law enforcement official told CNN that Rivers stopped breathing during throat surgery. Rivers, 81, was taken by ambulance in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. 
 
 The clinic address given by a New York Fire Department spokesman is a building that houses an endoscopy clinic where doctors perform minor procedures on patients. The clinic is a mile away from the hospital. 
 
 "This morning, Joan Rivers was taken to the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, where she is being attended to," hospital spokesman Sid Dinsay said in a statement. "Her family wants to thank everybody for their outpouring of love and support. We will provide an update on her condition as it becomes available." 
 
 Rivers had been scheduled to perform her comedy act at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey, Friday night. 
 
 Michael Lucas, who was in the audience for Rivers' show at New York's Beechman Theater Wednesday night, told CNN that she joked about death. 
 
 "She said, 'You know I'm 81 years old, and I could drop dead at any moment and you would be so lucky because you will have a story to tell your friends for the rest of your life,'" Lucas said. "Then she mimicked people talking about what it was like to see her drop dead on stage." 
 
 Rivers was in fine form, he said. "There was no sign (Wednesday) night that she was declining. Her show was over an hour long and she never stumbled or even paused to catch her breath." 
 
 In 2013, Rivers allowed cameras to record a health scare for her and her daughter's reality show, "Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?" 
 
 Rivers said on the show that doctors found a spot on an X-ray after she had a persistent cough. 
 
 "We're just not going to be sad about this," Rivers said during the episode. "We're gonna do jokes and be up until we know. That's how I deal with things. I'm not just gonna sit around the next couple of days and go crazy." 
 
 Rivers has been open about her health issues. She was diagnosed with osteoporosis in 2002 after a fall down some stairs left her with broken bones, and she became an advocate for screenings for women. 
 
 She also admitted to not being as healthy as she could be. 
 
 "I try not to be, but I'm a terrible eater," she said. "I wish I could say I eat super-healthy, but I don't. I love junk food -- it should be its own food group -- so I help my bones with supplements and medicine." 
 
 Joan Rivers 'stands behind' Gaza quotes: 'War is hell" 
 
 See more comedian content at CNN Comedy. 
 
 CNN's Tony Marco, Lisa Respers France and Doug Ganley contributed to this report.
– Joan Rivers' family remains tight-lipped about the comedian's condition. Daughter Melissa released another short statement today: “My mother has been moved out of intensive care and into a private room where she is being kept comfortable,” it says. “Thank you for your continued support.” The younger Rivers didn't explain why the move occurred, reports the Daily News, while TMZ notes that it doesn't necessarily suggest an improvement. E! Online says the 81-year-old remains on life support.