PALM COAST, Fla. — A 29-year-old woman from Palm Coast, who confessed to impersonating a registered nurse and treating thousands of patients without proper licensure, has been sentenced after reaching a plea deal.
On April 7, Autumn Bardisa entered a no-contest plea to charges of practicing health care without a license and fraudulently using identification. Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols did not formally convict her but sentenced her to five years of probation and ordered 50 hours of community service. Additionally, she must send a letter of apology to the nurse whose license number she used.
Investigators report that Bardisa cared for over 4,400 patients while falsely claiming to be a licensed nurse. In her plea deal, she surrendered her nursing license—acquired after her arrest—to the Florida Department of Health and is prohibited from practicing medicine during her probation.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly condemned Bardisa’s behavior, noting that her decision to use another nurse’s credentials not only harmed her career but also risked patient safety. He stated she will likely be barred from working in healthcare for at least three years, possibly up to five.
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