Florida woman accused of impersonating registered nurse gets 5-year probation

Florida woman accused of impersonating nurse reaches plea deal

Autumn Bardisa, a Florida woman accused of impersonating a registered nurse, pleaded no contest to her charges in court on Tuesday, April 7, and was sentenced to five years probation. 

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. - A woman accused of impersonating a registered nurse for seven months at a Florida hospital was issued five years of probation – after pleading no contest to her charges. 

Autumn Bardisa was arrested last year in Palm Coast after prosecutors alleged she used another woman's nursing license to work.

Now, eight months after Bardisa's arrest, a judge accepted her no contest plea, saying though her actions were serious, "jail time was not necessary," FOX 35's Alexus Cleavenger reported. 

What we know:

Autumn Bardisa was given five years of probation after prosecutors said she spent seven months at an AdventHealth hospital impersonating another registered nurse. During her probation, Bardisa is prevented from working in the medical field, Cleavenger reported. 

Autumn Bardisa is accused of impersonating an AdventHealth licensed nurse for seven months. 

Bardisa was reportedly working under the name and nursing license of another nurse, claiming she had recently gotten married and had a new last name. An investigation showed, though Bardisa passed the required schooling to become an RN, she was not licensed. 

She was a licensed CNA and attended school to become an RN, the judge said.

"There is zero evidence that countless lives were on the line, zero evidence," the judge said on April 7. "… Incredibly poor judgment and lied to her employer, but this is not the case of a person coming off the street with no medical training."

The backstory:

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office launched an 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. 

Bardisa was initially hired in July 2023 as an advanced nurse technician under the supervision of a registered nurse. She claimed to be an "education first" registered nurse, meaning she had completed the required schooling but had not yet passed the national licensing exam. 

During the hiring process, Bardisa allegedly told the hospital she had passed the exam and provided a license number matching another nurse with the same first name. She explained the different last name by claiming she had recently married, but she never provided a marriage license to verify her identity, according to officials. 

The other nurse – whose name Bardisa used, Autumn Rubba – was also employed by AdventHealth, at a different hospital, and went gone to school with Bardisa, the Flagler County Sheriff's office said. The two women didn't personally know one another, deputies said. 

In January 2025, while being considered for a promotion to be a charge nurse, a colleague discovered Bardisa had an expired CNA license, prompting an internal investigation that confirmed she had never verified her identity.

Bardisa was arrested on Aug. 5 on seven counts of practicing a health care profession without a license and seven counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information, the sheriff's office said. 

What they're saying:

At the time of her arrest, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly issued the following statement: 

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

FOX 35 has reached out to the sheriff's office for comment following Bardisa's sentencing. 

Conditions of probation

During Bardisa's five-year probation, she's barred from working in the medical field. 

She's also ordered to write an apology to Autumn Rubba. 

"At the end of the day, I will never know why you chose to steal my license," Rubba said in court. 

The other side:

Though Bardisa is not admitting guilt, she spoke with Cleavenger about making mistakes. 

"Everyone regrets not crossing their I's and dotting their T's making sure everything is complete," Bardisa said. "But I think a mistake should not ruin someone's life."

What's next:

Once probation ends, the Florida Department of Health will decide if she can obtain a nursing license in the future.