For more than a year, patients at a Florida hospital trusted a nurse who never should’ve been there.
Authorities say 29-year-old Autumn Marie Bardisa spent over a year working at AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway — seeing thousands of patients, wearing a nurse’s uniform, and even signing charts — without a valid nursing license.
From June 2024 to January 2025, Bardisa allegedly treated over 4,400 patients while posing as a registered nurse.
According to investigators, Bardisa’s real license had long expired, but she managed to use another licensed nurse’s identity and submit fake documents to gain employment.
Her role wasn’t minor — she handled patient records, administered basic care, and interacted daily with vulnerable people who believed they were in professional hands.
When the deception was uncovered, it sent shockwaves through the hospital. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office arrested Bardisa and charged her with 14 felonies — seven counts of practicing medicine without a license and seven counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information.
She was held on a $70,000 bond, and AdventHealth later issued a statement saying they were “deeply disturbed” by the situation and have since tightened verification systems to prevent future fraud.
Sheriff Rick Staly called it “one of the most alarming cases of medical deception” the county has ever seen.
“It’s terrifying to think someone could treat thousands of patients without ever being qualified,” he said.
Bardisa’s case remains under review as state health officials continue to contact patients who may have been impacted.