Autumn Bardisa, a 29-year-old woman from Palm Coast, Florida, is facing serious charges after allegedly impersonating a licensed nurse and providing medical care to more than 4,000 patients over a two-year period. Authorities say she was arrested Tuesday following a seven-month investigation into her employment at AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway. Detectives allege Bardisa used another nurse’s license number and false documents to secure her position, performing medical duties without proper credentials.

According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Bardisa began working at the hospital in July 2023 as an advanced nurse technician. At the time, she claimed she was an “education first” registered nurse — someone who had completed the required schooling but had not yet passed the national licensing exam. Later, she told the hospital she had passed the exam and provided a license number belonging to another nurse with the same first name but a different last name. Bardisa allegedly explained the name discrepancy by claiming she had recently married, but she never produced a marriage certificate when asked.

WLBT reports that the deception began to unravel in January 2025, when Bardisa was offered a promotion. Curious coworkers checked her credentials and discovered she only held an expired certified nursing assistant license. Hospital administrators launched an internal investigation, which confirmed she had never provided the required marriage license to verify her identity. She was fired on January 25, and law enforcement began their own inquiry.

Detectives learned that the real nurse whose license number Bardisa used worked at a different AdventHealth facility and had attended school with Bardisa, though the two were not personally acquainted. Investigators allege Bardisa performed medical services for 4,486 patients between June 2024 and January 2025 without a valid nursing license.

On Tuesday, deputies arrested Bardisa at her home on seven counts of practicing a health care profession without a license and seven counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information. She is currently being held at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on a $70,000 bond.

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly called the case “one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we’ve ever investigated.” Officials urge anyone who believes they were treated by Bardisa to contact the sheriff’s office at [email protected].