Florida woman who faked nursing credentials passed licensing exam after hospital fired her: Sheriff

Flagler sheriff speaks on nurse impersonator arrest

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly held a news conference on Wednesday about 29-year-old Autumn Bardisa. She was arrested Tuesday for allegedly impersonating a registered nurse and providing medical care to over 4,400 patients at a Flagler County hospital without a valid license, deputies said.

PALM COAST, Fla. - The woman arrested Tuesday for allegedly posing as a registered nurse at a Florida hospital and providing care to thousands of patients without a license did attend college, according to Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly.

On Wednesday, during a news conference about Autumn Bardisa's arrest, the sheriff said the 29-year-old graduated from Rasmussen University in March 2022. However, he noted that Bardisa took the state nursing licensing exam, but failed it.

He added that she eventually passed the exam in early 2025, shortly after being fired from the hospital.

The backstory:

Bardisa is facing seven charges of practicing a healthcare profession without a license and seven counts of fraudulent use of personal identification –  corresponding to the seven months she allegedly posed as a nurse, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.

Detectives launched a months-long investigation into Bardisa after hospital administrators fired her for allegedly using another person’s license number and submitting false documents to gain employment as an advanced nurse technician at AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway.

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During the hiring process, Bardisa allegedly claimed she passed the nursing exam and used a license number belonging to another nurse with the same first name, explaining the different last name by saying she had recently married—but never provided proof.

According to the sheriff's office, hospital staff did not realize she was not a licensed nurse until January 2025 when she was being considered for a promotion to charge nurse.

She was terminated that month, and the hospital contacted law enforcement to conduct a criminal investigation.

Investigators later determined that Bardisa had provided medical care to 4,486 patients from June 2024 through January 2025 while unlicensed.

‘She must’ve done a good job'

What they're saying:

Sheriff Staly said he believes there were mistakes made in the hiring process – but his department is only looking into the criminal case and what led up to it.

Staly said, to their knowledge, there were no serious injuries or deaths connected to Bardisa’s case.

"She must have done a good job even though she wasn't licensed, because they were looking at a promotion to a charge nurse, which is what triggered the review of her file and, ultimately, how she got caught," Staly said.

"Ironically, after she was fired from AdventHealth, she actually did take the licensing exam in early 2025 and passed it this time," he added. 

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What's next:

Bardisa was booked into the Flagler County jail and is being held on a $70,000 bond. She has an arraignment hearing set for Sept. 2 at 8:30 a.m, according to online court records.