PALM COAST, Fla — A Palm Coast woman accused of posing as a licensed nurse and illegally treating thousands of patients has been arrested after a monthslong investigation by state and federal agencies.

According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, 29-year-old Autumn Bardisa was arrested Tuesday after a seven-month investigation that began when she was fired from AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway for impersonating a registered nurse.

Investigators said Bardisa used another woman’s license number and submitted false documents to be employed as an advanced nurse technician at the hospital.

“This is one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we’ve ever investigated,” said Sheriff Rick Staly.

AdventHealth officials told investigators that Bardisa was hired in July 2023. When applying for the position, hospital officials said Bardisa indicated that she was an “education first” registered nurse, which means she passed the required schooling to become a registered nurse but had not yet passed the national exam to obtain her license.

Later, hospital officials said Bardisa informed them she had passed the aforementioned exam and provided a license number matching a woman with the same first name, but with a different last name.

“Bardisa attempted to explain the discrepancy, stating that she had recently gotten married and had a new last name,” a news release on Bardisa’s arrest says.

Hospital officials asked Bardisa to provide her marriage license to AdventHealth, which never happened.

In January 2025, investigators said Bardisa was offered a promotion, which prompted her colleagues to check the status of her license. The employee discovered Bardisa’s certified nursing assistant license had expired and reported her findings to hospital administrators.

AdventHealth opened an investigation and discovered Bardisa had never provided her marriage license to confirm her identity. Bardisa was fired Jan. 22, 2025, after she failed to confirm her identity.

The hospital then notified the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office to conduct a criminal investigation into Bardisa.

Throughout the investigation, detectives and investigators with the Florida Department of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reviewed documents, conducted interviews with AdventHealth employees and the nurse whose identity Bardisa is accused of stealing. Investigators said Bardisa and the other nurse share the same first name and attended the same school, but did not personally know each other. The other nurse was also employed at a different AdventHealth.

The sheriff’s office said the investigation revealed Bardisa had provided medical services to 4,486 people from June 2024 to January 2025 without holding a valid nursing license.

Tuesday, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Bardisa on seven counts of practicing a health care profession without a license and seven counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information.

Bardisa was arrested at her home and taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where she remains on a $70,000 bond.

“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,” said Staly. “Thanks to great investigative work between our detectives and State Attorney 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.”

The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who believes they may be a victim of Bardisa to contact FCSO by email at fakenursecase@flaglersheriff.com for more information.