MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Raquel Hayes had many fooled for years, pretending to be an elementary school nurse from Clover, South Carolina.
That’s because authorities in Memphis say she took a nurse’s license from a stranger with the same first name and used it to get jobs at several health care facilities between June 2013 and July 2015.
Raquel Avore, the nurse in South Carolina, got a call from authorities in Memphis.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Avore said. “How did this happen? How does someone use a nursing license that’s specifically mine?”
Hayes’ attorney said his client even got a job at Fertility Associates of Memphis off Walnut Grove.
WREG called their offices several times to find out what Hayes did at the clinic, and if they’re changing their hiring policy. But we were told the office administrator is the only person who could talk the media and she wasn’t at work.
Tennessee’s nursing board director says “employers have the responsibility to verify and continuously monitor the licensure status”
It’s unclear if the clinic could face disciplinary action.
Authorities got a tip about Hayes, which launched their investigation.
She pleaded guilty to identity theft and impersonating a licensed professional Monday and got two years probation.
She’s now back in the Nashville area.
“Hopefully, it won’t happen again,” Avore said.