Authorities in Florida arrested a 29-year-old woman who allegedly posed as a nurse and provided care to thousands of patients despite lacking proper credentials.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Autumn Bardisa was taken into custody at her home while dressed in medical scrubs. She is accused of presenting herself as a licensed nurse and administering medical care to over 4,400 people between June 2024 and January 2025.
Investigators determined that Bardisa never held a valid nursing license during that time. She had been employed at AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway beginning in July 2023, but her contract was terminated in January 2025 due to internal concerns.
The arrest capped a seven-month probe conducted by state and federal health agencies. Hospital officials reported that Bardisa had falsely assumed the identity of a registered nurse by using another individual’s license number and submitting fabricated documents to secure her position as an advanced nurse technician.
Officials noted that Bardisa originally applied for the job under the title of “education first” registered nurse, a designation for individuals who have completed nursing education but haven’t passed the national licensing exam. Later, she allegedly claimed she had passed the exam and submitted a license number belonging to a nurse who shared her first name but had a different last name.
Bardisa told the hospital she had recently married and changed her last name, which she used to justify the discrepancy. When asked to provide her marriage certificate, she never complied, investigators said.
Despite failing to verify her identity, Bardisa was reportedly offered a promotion in January 2025. This raised flags among coworkers, one of whom checked the status of her license and found that Bardisa only held an expired certified nursing assistant license. The discovery was then brought to the attention of hospital administrators.
Further investigation revealed that Bardisa had never submitted documentation to confirm her identity. As a result, AdventHealth ended her contract and alerted the sheriff’s office, prompting a wider criminal inquiry.
The investigation, conducted alongside the Florida Department of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, included interviews with hospital staff and the nurse whose license Bardisa had allegedly used. Authorities said the two women had attended the same nursing school but were not personally acquainted.
Bardisa faces seven felony counts of practicing medicine without a license and seven counts of identity fraud. She is being held at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on $70,000 bond.
Source: www.foxnews.com
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