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Osceola County hospital where teen impersonated physician's assistant slapped with $5,000 fine

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — The Osceola County hospital where a teen impersonated a physician's assistant and even worked on patients is getting slapped with a $5,000 fine.

A recently released report lists the major mistakes Osceola Regional Medical Center made involving Matthew Scheidt.

State health care authorities say it was a series of major mistakes at the hospital that allowed then 17-year-old Scheidt to fake his way in, pose as a physician's assistant and even treat patients last August.

The hospital is now being fined $5,000 for its errors that allowed the teen to go undiscovered for more than a week.

In the 36-page settlement agreement, the state agency for health care administration outlined how the hospital "failed to protect each patient's right to confidentiality" and how officials never checked Scheidt's credentials when issuing him a badge.

It said he treated people in the emergency department, which sees about 200 patients a day. He even gave CPR to a woman, who later died.

The hospital is on the list of the 50 most profitable hospitals in the country, according to Becker's Hospital review. It takes in about $1.3 billion in gross revenue.

The report shows three different violation counts, and the $5,000 fine is the standard set for those violations by Florida law.

Records show since the incident, the hospital has established a plan of correction that includes a new badging system and better oversight.

"5,000 dollars? That's just a slap on the wrist," said Osceola County resident Roger Harris.

The hospital has 30 days to pay the fine.

WFTV reached out to hospital officials for comment, but haven't heard back.

Scheidt, who is now 18 years old, potentially faces decades in prison if he's convicted of impersonation charges in Osceola County.

He was arrested last year for pretending to be a physician's assistant and working on patients. He was released into his mother's care, but then he was arrested in January for impersonating a police officer in Miami.

Scheidt's next court hearing is scheduled for mid-May.