It was a case that stunned both medical professionals and the local community: a 29-year-old woman in Palm Coast, Florida, allegedly posed as a registered nurse, treating thousands of patients over a period of months before her deception was finally uncovered. The arrest of Autumn Bardisa on August 5, 2025, capped a seven-month investigation into what Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly described as "one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we've ever investigated."
Bardisa’s story began in July 2023, when she was hired by AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway as an advanced nurse technician. According to Fox News Digital and the Flagler County Sheriff's Office (FCSO), Bardisa claimed to be an "education-first" registered nurse—a term for someone who has completed nursing school but not yet passed the national licensing exam. However, Bardisa went a step further, submitting a license number that belonged to another nurse who shared her first name but had a different last name. When asked about the discrepancy, Bardisa told hospital administrators she had recently married and changed her surname, but she never produced a marriage certificate to verify her claim.
Between June 2024 and January 2025, Bardisa provided medical care to an astonishing 4,486 patients at AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway. Investigators from the FCSO, the Florida Department of Health, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services later determined that Bardisa never held a valid nursing license during her entire employment. She had, in fact, only an expired certified nursing assistant license—a credential that was discovered by a coworker in January 2025 when Bardisa was being considered for a promotion to charge nurse. This discovery triggered an internal investigation at AdventHealth, which led to Bardisa's termination and the launch of a criminal inquiry.
Hospital officials were shocked by the scale and audacity of the deception. Bardisa had not only worked under false pretenses but had also submitted fabricated documentation and used the license number of a nurse employed at a different hospital. According to The Independent, the two women had attended the same nursing school but did not personally know each other. Bardisa’s ability to slip through the cracks of the hospital’s hiring and credentialing process left many in the medical community deeply unsettled.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly did not mince words about the seriousness of the case. "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, AdventHealth and an entire medical community," Staly said in a statement quoted by BBC, Fox News Digital, and The Independent. "Thanks to great investigative work between our detectives and State Attorney, Florida's 7th Circuit R.J. Larizza’s Office and AdventHealth, along with our state and federal partners, she’ll now be held accountable for her reckless and dangerous actions."
According to the FCSO, Bardisa was arrested at her home in Palm Coast on August 5, 2025, while still dressed in medical scrubs. She faces seven felony counts of practicing a health care profession without a license and seven counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information—one count for each month she allegedly worked as a nurse without proper credentials. Bardisa is currently being held at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on a $70,000 bond.
The case has raised important questions about the processes hospitals use to verify the credentials of their staff. How could someone with only an expired nursing assistant license treat thousands of patients undetected for so long? According to McClatchy News, the deception was only uncovered when a coworker took the initiative to check Bardisa’s license status after she was offered a promotion. Hospital administrators had previously accepted Bardisa’s explanations about her name change, but the lack of a marriage license eventually raised red flags.
AdventHealth has declined to comment publicly on the case, citing ongoing legal proceedings, according to McClatchy News and Fox News Digital. However, the hospital has cooperated fully with law enforcement throughout the investigation. The FCSO, in an effort to identify any potential victims of Bardisa’s alleged fraud, has set up a dedicated email address ([email protected]) for patients who believe they may have been treated by her.
For many in the Palm Coast community, the case is a sobering reminder of the importance of rigorous background checks and credential verification in the healthcare sector. Medical fraud is not a new phenomenon, but the sheer scale of Bardisa’s alleged deception—and the potential risks to patient safety—have made this case especially troubling. As Sheriff Staly emphasized, "This is one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we've ever investigated."
While Bardisa awaits her day in court, the investigation has already prompted hospitals and clinics across the region to review their own hiring and credentialing practices. Experts say that while most healthcare institutions have robust systems in place, determined fraudsters can sometimes find ways to exploit gaps—especially when documents are fabricated or when explanations for discrepancies, such as a name change due to marriage, are accepted without verification.
Legal experts note that Bardisa’s charges are serious. Practicing a health care profession without a license is a felony in Florida, as is the fraudulent use of personal identification information. If convicted on all counts, Bardisa could face significant prison time. The case also highlights the potential civil liability for hospitals and healthcare providers who inadvertently allow unlicensed practitioners to treat patients, though AdventHealth has not been accused of wrongdoing in this instance.
For now, the focus remains on ensuring that anyone who may have been affected by Bardisa’s actions is identified and receives appropriate follow-up care if needed. The FCSO continues to urge anyone with concerns to contact their office. Palm Coast, a community located about 80 miles northeast of Orlando, has been left reeling by the revelations—but officials hope that by bringing the facts to light, they can help restore trust in the local healthcare system and prevent similar incidents in the future.
As the legal process unfolds, the case of Autumn Bardisa will likely serve as a cautionary tale for hospitals nationwide: even the most trusted institutions must remain vigilant, because sometimes, those who say they want to help are not who they claim to be.
