Young Impostor Infiltrates Texas Hospital

How a Teen Impersonated a Physician Assistant and Infiltrated Texas Hospitals

In a shocking tale reminiscent of the movie "Catch Me If You Can," a teenager from Corpus Christi, Texas, managed to infiltrate two hospitals by posing as a traveling physician assistant according to this article. According to an investigation by KRIS-TV Channel 6, Zachry Brent Bailey, then just 17 years old, purchased $41 worth of scrubs from Scrubs-R-Us and used them to gain access to Corpus Christi Medical Center’s Bay Hospital.

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Bailey went to human resources, where he pretended to be a physician assistant in need of a badge. The volunteer coordinator who was staffing the desk made him an ID badge, despite noticing that he seemed young. Bailey then went on to gain access to critical care areas, including the emergency room, intensive care units, operating rooms, cath lab, and even the newborn nursery.

Nerves of Steel

He also managed to gain access to Doctors Regional Hospital but was denied entry to Driscoll Children's Hospital, where an HR recruiter told him he wasn't on any employee lists. Bailey claimed he had mistakenly gone to the wrong facility and left to "call his recruiter."

The young man spent nearly a month hanging around the hospitals unnoticed, even managing to get into doctor's lounges by dressing in scrubs or physician's coats that belonged to providers. However, his luck ran out when ICU nurses became suspicious of him one night. They found Bailey's social media account and reported him to hospital authorities, who quickly disabled his badge and called the police.

Bank Fraud

When the police went to search Bailey's apartment, they found the badge, a bag of stolen hospital scrubs, and a $52,000 BMW he had purchased in an alleged bank fraud scheme. Bailey was not there at the time, but the police eventually caught up with him at the Sharp Shooter gun range, where an off-duty police officer recognized him and detained him without incident.

@the.nurse.erica #greenscreenvideo #greenscreen #physicianassistant #catchmeifyoucan #thenurseerica ♬ original sound - TheNurseErica

192 Times???

After being released on bond, Bailey was arrested again for violating the terms of his GPS tracking system 192 times. He ultimately pleaded guilty to the third-degree felony charge of impersonating a physician assistant and was sentenced to deferred adjudication for six years. If he meets the terms of his sentence, the charge may be removed from his record.

Happy Ending

In an interview with @The.Nurse.Erica on TikTok, Bailey claimed that his life was going well now. He had started a couple of businesses and was engaged to be married. However, he had been ordered back to Nueces County in Texas after allegedly being given permission by his probation officer to move out of state.

The story of Zachry Brent Bailey's hospital infiltration has captivated audiences, with many comparing it to the movie "Catch Me If You Can." It serves as a reminder of how important it is to be vigilant and ensure that those who claim to be medical professionals are who they say they are.

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