In this solo news roundup for nurses, host Colton Lord highlights four major stories that illustrate the power and challenges of the nursing profession. He first profiles Oregon State Representative Travis Nelson, the state’s first Black LGBTQ+ nurse lawmaker, detailing his ten‑year journey to a BSN, his diverse clinical background, and his legislative agenda—including the historic Medicaid bill that lets nurses bill directly for care‑management services, a pending AI‑assistive‑technology ban, newborn‑screening improvements, workplace‑violence protections, and other equity‑focused measures. Lord emphasizes how Nelson’s dual identity as a nurse and legislator amplifies nurses’ collective voice. The second segment recounts the viral video of Los Angeles ICU nurse Amanda Trebach, who was briefly detained by ICE while documenting an immigration raid; she was released without charges, prompting concerns about the safety of healthcare workers during enforcement actions. The third story exposes a Florida fraud case: Autumn Bardisa (also spelled Berdissa), who posed as a registered nurse at AdventHealth Palm Coast, treated over 4,400 patients for 18 months using falsified credentials, and was arrested after a coworker uncovered her expired CNA license. The host reflects on credential verification failures and staffing pressures that enable such breaches. The episode closes with a tribute to ER nurse Grace Adams of Birmingham, Alabama, who died suddenly, was an organ donor, and is remembered for her compassion and calm presence; Lord uses her story to remind nurses of life’s fragility and the importance of personal fulfillment. Finally, Lord promotes the Club Nurse podcast giveaway, subscription calls, and invites listener questions via nurse.org/clubnurse.
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Welcome back to Club Nurse, everybody. This is Colton Lord, your host, and I am so thankful that you are here as always. Thanks for coming back and trusting me to deliver you so many great conversations and nursing news. Today is one of our nurse news segments. Gonna bring you some things that are happening in the news, in the healthcare world, in nursing specifically is kind of what we focus on. But it's not only nurse news. If there is something worth covering that I feel like it's beneficial for you to hear or it's just entertaining, Or really just anything, I will deliver that news to you. But really, I, I think I love most about doing this is highlighting nurses doing really, really cool things, because I think a lot of times we box ourselves in as nurses and we think that we're tied to a particular specialty, or we have to just stay at the bedside, or there's like this roadmap that we're supposed to be following. But when I see people like Travis Nelson doing some really cool things out in the world and really making a difference and using his voice for power, for change, and to really advocate for the nursing profession. It just lights a fire in me. It's inspiring. And it's something that I want to share with you. And you may be asking, who is Travis Nelson? Maybe you already know who he is, but let's talk about it. So Travis Nelson is Oregon's first Black LGBTQ+ nurse lawmaker. And he really is doing some historic things for nurses. Nelson quotes, "We have the power to change laws when we show up in the halls of power," and they kind of preface this one. This is coming from the nurse.org/news. They have an article all about Travis Nelson and the work that he is doing, but it talks about how one of the many challenges that is facing the nursing industry is the inability for nursing care to be recognized as a billable service. Anything when you go to a hospital and you get treated for anything in the ER, literally everything down to the box of tissues. is billed to you individually, but the nursing care is really lumped into like, like the one, a fee basically into your hospital bill. It's not like an individual billable service for like the skills that the nurses are providing to you. And so that's one of the things that Travis is really focusing on. He is a state representative of House District 44 in North and Northeast Portland, and he saw major Major success in leading Oregon to become the first state in the country to allow nurses to bill Medicaid directly for care management services, which is huge. The article is actually really funny. It basically just says nurses are not equivalent to Jello. Like there is deserve to be a billable service, really important for the nursing profession. So Travis's career really exemplifies the nursing profession and just shows like. With grit and determination. You know, it took over a span of 10 years to finally get his Bachelor of Science in Nursing. He's worked everywhere from med-surg to critical care to case management, also as a charge nurse of an inpatient rehab unit. And in his interview with nurse.org, he talks about enjoying his time on the rehab unit mostly because it allowed him the most time with the patients and having that interaction with them. He got into political work and, like I said, serves as Oregon's first ever Black LGBTQIA+ member in the state legislature. He was elected to the House of Representatives in January 2022 representing House District 44 and tells nurse.org that his work as a state representative falls into 3 buckets: healthcare, worker rights, and equity work. So as well as the passage of a Medicaid bill Uh, Travis Nelson is also working on a bill that is in progress for banning AI from labeling assistive technology as nurses, basically. And this was inspired and derived from his work in the American Nurses Association. He states that there is a lot of crossover in nursing and politics, and that both professions put problem solving to the forefront. Being a nurse honed my communication skills and prepared me for the collaborative spirit needed in politics. That was a direct quote from Travis Nelson. And basically, as well as his— as the Medicaid and AI bills, his other initiatives include legislation that aims to improve newborn screening, protect healthcare workers from workplace violence with preventative requirements, invest in behavioral health workers and safety, ensure only a registered nurse can supervise other nurses in school setting, improve sickle cell hospital protocols, improve child welfare data reporting. So really, he's out there just doing the most, doing great things for the profession, and using his voice and standing up and using his experience, his knowledge, and his voice to make a difference in the world and things that are really passionate to him and that mean something to him. And I'll close this, this story out about Travis Nelson, um, with a quote that he said, that nurses have an incredibly strong voice when they use it. It is no accident that nurses have been the most trusted professionals for more than 20 years. People love and respect nurses, and we have the power to change laws when we show up in the halls of power. It's amazing. It's great work. I think that we need people like Travis. A lot of the stuff with bills and legislation honestly can go over my head. It's complicated. It's very complex. And so we need people like Travis who have that, that knowledge and that power and that grit and that voice to go out there and make change and speak up for people in the profession at large. So I just wanted to give a major shout out to Travis. We applaud you and we thank you on behalf of all nurses. Okay, the next thing— did you guys see the viral video of the nurse who was arrested while filming an immigration raid? This was a nurse out of Los Angeles, Amanda Trebach— I hope I say her name correctly— who's a registered nurse who was recently detained in Los Angeles while monitoring immigration enforcement activities and released— this was, uh, she sounds like she was released a couple evenings ago without facing any criminal charges. I do recommend that you go watch the video. Nurse.org did post a video of this viral clip of the nurse being detained by ICE. Really disheartening, really hard to wrap your mind around because it doesn't really make sense as to why. There is no reporting or evidence that Amanda Trebach was doing anything wrong. She is an ICU nurse and a U.S. citizen, and she was taken into federal custody outside of the Terminal Island staging area in San Pedro, Los Angeles on August 8th, 2025, who was present with a community advocacy group Yeah, and no evidence of Trebach provoking or assaulting federal agents prior to her arrest, but it was caught on video. And I— yeah, I mean, if it's not going to trigger you, I do recommend you go watching it because this is just the reality of things that are happening. I'm really glad that she was okay. There was calls, initiatives to get her out, freeing Amanda, because it didn't make sense. But again, she was released. No criminal charges were pressed on her. But this does pose some questions as to why this— these things are happening. And just be careful out there. I think it's important, again, going back to kind of the theme of the week, I guess, is just using your voice for things that matter to you and that you're passionate about. But with these ones specifically, with these ICE raids, just be very careful. Yes, it's important to speak up and be a part of, you know, the right side of history, but just be careful when you're out there. Be sure to protect yourself. Glad that Amanda is okay and free. Okay, this one does not surprise me. This is coming out of Florida. Shout out, love to all the Florida nurses out there. But girl, what is going on in the state of Florida? This— I remember when all these fake nursing licenses were being handed out there, but this one is— oh my God, this one is so crazy. Fake nurse Autumn Bardisa. Arrested and caught on video after treating 4,000+ patients for 18 months. This story is wild. So basically, Autumn Marie Berdissa, 29, of Palm Coast, was arrested after allegedly impersonating a registered nurse and treating over 4,400 patients without proper licensure across 2 AdventHealth Palm Coast hospitals over an 18-month period. So kind of the timeline of what happened: she was hired in July of 2023 as an advanced nurse technician at AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway. She falsely claimed to be a registered nurse by submitting fraudulent documentation, including a nursing license number belonging to someone else. She claimed a name discrepancy was due to a recent marriage and failed to provide a marriage certificate when requested. Bardisa previously only held an expired CNA license. So from June 2024 to January 2025, she provided care to thousands of patients without a valid license. The fraud was discovered after she was considered for a promotion, prompting a coworker to verify her credentials. The coworker discovered her expired CNA license. Again, there is video footage of her being arrested. If you are interested, just go visit the nurse nurse underscore org. That's the nurse dot org Instagram page. They did post that on there for us to see. I mean, really just impressive that she was able to do this. And I mean, hopefully nobody got harmed. I'm not seeing anything in the news or reported that there was anything harmful done. It does sound like, and I don't know if I can confirm this, but I did remember reading that I believe that she did go to nursing school, but there was never a completion of the NCLEX. And basically when she got hired, she had Presented the nursing license with a different last name, and they had asked her. She said she got married, and they asked for the marriage certificate, and she never provided it. But then continued to let her work. So this is wild again, Florida. What is going on in Florida? I think that they just are like, "Well, we need nurses. She's a warm body. Seems to be doing okay. We'll just let it slide." Wild, absolutely wild. All right, and we will close out this week's nurse news. With honoring Grace Adams. She is a nurse out of Birmingham, Alabama, who had a sudden and heartbreaking loss— death. Let me re-say that. Oh my gosh, that did not come out how I wanted it to. Grace Adams is a nurse out of Birmingham, Alabama, who had a sudden death. She was an emergency room nurse at UAB Medicine. Whose life and final act embodied the very spirit of the profession. Originally from Marietta, Georgia, she made Birmingham her home after studying at the University of Alabama in Birmingham and graduated from Joseph Wheeler High School. Again, was an ER nurse, was known for her calm presence, warm smile, and unwavering dedication to her patients. As nurses— this is, again, this is from nurse.org/news from their article— This is Says, as nurses, we are taught that our duty to care doesn't end when the shift is over, and Grace lived that truth deeply. She reportedly carried her compassion into every corner of her life, forming lasting bonds with colleagues, friends, and patients alike. Even in her final moments, her calling to heal never wavered. Grace was an organ donor, ensuring that strangers fighting for their lives would potentially have another chance because of her. In a farewell marked by honor, uh, on August 10th, a friend and coworker shared an emotional Instagram video of Grace's honor walk. The solemn procession through hospital hallways before organ donation. In her caption, she wrote, how lucky are we to have loved Grace? Yesterday felt impossible, but this is a constant reminder that grace is still working here on Earth. Grateful for the family she had, the friends she kept, and the lives she touched. So just a reminder to all my nurses out there to just remember, like, this life, you never know what's going to happen. None of us are promised tomorrow. And I just really think it's so important that yes, you are a nurse, It is a part of who you are, but it is not who you are. And I mean, I do not know what the cause of death was for Grace, but what I do know is it's just a great time to sit and reflect and look at your own life and just remember that at any moment this could be taken away from you, and just to be so grateful each day to wake up and have another chance at life and If you are, you know, working in a job that you're not loving and it's draining your soul and you feel like you need to pivot and make a change, it's just do it now. Don't wait because you just never know what's going to happen. These stories, I mean, we, we work in a profession we're faced with death and disease and illness every single day. And I think sometimes we just forget and we maybe, you know, put a blind eye to it, act like it's not happening, ignore the fact that our lives are passing us by and that sometimes we stay in things far too long, whether that's a job, a relationship, just any kind of living situation. And it's just, it's time to take control of your life. I know it's not an easy thing to do, but these stories are just a reminder of that, that your life is worth living and it's worth living to what feels best for you. So again, just wanted to do a shout out to Grace and to all of her friends and family. We send our love. It's always hard to hear the loss of one of our own in the nursing community. And with that, that It wraps up our nurse news of this week. Again, this is Club Nurse. Please follow and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and leave us a review. We are running a giveaway right now. So if you go to nurse.org/clubnurse and scroll to the bottom, and you can fill out the form to enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card. We're giving away 2. All you have to do is follow club.nurse on Instagram. Rate and review the podcast. So go on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, give us a 5-star review, and then write a nice little review as well. And that was it. And then share the post on Instagram on your story. That was the 3 things. I think that was the 3 things. Oh my gosh, I'm sorry everybody, my brain. I need a break. Yeah. Yeah. So enter to win a $50 gift card. And also, if anybody is interested, there's also a spot on there where you can leave a question if you want. If you have a question for the podcast, I'm happy to take those questions and talk about it more. So it's all on there, nurse.org/clubnurse. All right, we'll catch you guys later. Bye.
