UPMC employee accused of stealing from patients

PITTSBURGH — A University of Pittsburgh Medical Center employee is facing criminal charges, accused of stealing more than $1,000 from patients in separate incidents last month at Mercy Hospital.

According to court documents, 30-year-old Tyesha Dorsey stole a patient’s debit card while that individual was “incapacitated in the Medical ICU.” Another patient reported that their entire wallet had been taken.

Dorsey had been working as a patient care technician and has now been suspended, according to a UPMC spokesperson.

Court documents obtained by Channel 11 claim that Dorsey was caught on hospital surveillance cameras making ATM withdrawals with the victims’ cards.

Further, one victim reported that changes were made to their account. A phone number had been added, which investigators allegedly linked back to Dorsey. Channel 11 called that number on Monday. A woman answered, but declined to comment before hanging up.

We also visited the Sheraden home address listed for Dorsey. A man identified himself as her younger brother, Imari Porter, and stated she no longer lives there.

“It doesn’t sound like something she would do ... she was always trying to keep me out of trouble,” Porter told us.

Channel 11, however, learned that Dorsey previously pleaded guilty in federal court for her role in a forged prescription ring.

Federal documents indicate she was placed on home confinement in June of 2018. In early 2019, a petition was filed for her to be removed from home confinement in order to work for UPMC. Channel 11 asked the UPMC spokesperson about the decision to hire her despite the recent federal case.

The spokesperson told us that background checks are conducted on all employees and “with regard to hiring, we follow federal, state, and local regulations and anti-discrimination laws.”

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