Westmoreland County nurses fired after taking, sharing inappropriate patient pictures, police say
GREENSBURG, Pa. (KDKA) — Four Independence Health System employees at Westmoreland Hospital have been fired after an investigation uncovered misconduct involving at least eight patients.
Police here say that misconduct is disturbing, and includes videos and pictures of nude elderly patients taken inside thier rooms at the hospital.
According to the criminal complaint, Peter Castellano and Melissa Tompkins are accused of deliberately antagonizing several patients while taking pictures and videos of them naked without their consent.
Those images were then allegedly shared in a group text with two other hospital employees who have not yet been charged.
The victims ranged in age from 46 to 105 years old. When questioned by detectives, both Castellano and Tompkins admitted to being part of the group chat, but denied any wrongdoing.
Castellano said he saw a few pictures of patients in bed but believed they were clothed. Tompkins said a co-worker took her phone to take what she thought was a selfie.
In a statement to KDKA-TV, Westmoreland Hospital says in part, "Independence Health System was shocked and outraged to discover egregious actions involving four of its Westmoreland Hospital employees, actions that starkly contradicted our core values and standards of conduct. The employees in question were terminated without delay."
Tompkins was expected to turn herself in as of Wednesday, per her attorney, but never appeared at the magistrate's office.