A woman in Palm Coast, Florida has been arrested after allegedly posing as a nurse and providing medical care to thousands of unsuspecting patients—despite never having a valid nursing license.
Autumn Bardisa, 29, was taken into custody at her home on Tuesday, August 5, while still wearing medical scrubs. According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Bardisa had allegedly impersonated a licensed nurse and treated at least 4,486 individuals between June 2024 and January 2025.
Officials say the arrest follows a seven-month investigation triggered by a tip from AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway, where Bardisa had been employed since July 2023. She was initially hired as an advanced nurse technician, a role that allows for patient care under supervision. However, red flags quickly emerged.
According to investigators, Bardisa claimed she was a registered nurse who had passed her required coursework but hadn’t yet taken the national licensing exam. Later, she told hospital administrators she had passed the exam and even provided a license number—except the number actually belonged to a different nurse who shared her first name but had a different last name.
When asked to provide a marriage certificate to verify her identity change, Bardisa allegedly never did. Despite this, she was nearly promoted in early 2025, which drew attention from her colleagues. One suspicious employee looked up her license and discovered Bardisa only had an expired certified nursing assistant (CNA) license. That discovery was immediately reported to hospital administrators.
AdventHealth launched an internal investigation and quickly found that Bardisa had never submitted proof of her license or her marriage certificate. Her contract was terminated, and the hospital contacted local authorities.
That’s when the case escalated.
Working with the Florida Department of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, detectives discovered that Bardisa had used the personal identification of a legitimate nurse—someone she had gone to school with but reportedly did not know personally.
She now faces seven counts of practicing a healthcare profession without a license and seven counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information. Bardisa is being held in the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on a $70,000 bond.
“This is one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we’ve ever investigated,” said Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly. “This woman potentially put thousands of lives at risk by pretending to be someone she was not and violating the trust of patients, their families, and the entire medical community.”
Authorities say the investigation is ongoing. AdventHealth, for its part, has declined to comment further, citing privacy concerns and ongoing legal proceedings.
Yeah, but was she actually better then the real nurses, which is why they got jealous and started snooping into get background.