Healthcare Staffing Compliance in 2025: How ATC Catches What Others Miss
What the Shannon Womack Case Teaches Us About Healthcare Staffing Compliance
Healthcare staffing compliance in 2025 isn’t a luxury, it’s a legal and ethical necessity. And nothing proves that more than the disturbing case of Shannon Nicole Womack, a woman who impersonated a nurse in over a dozen states.
According to this New York Post article, between 2020 to 2024, Womack used 10+ aliases, seven different social security numbers, four stolen RN identities, forged multiple documents to pass I-9 verification, and even created her own staffing agency to find travel positions. Despite having no valid nursing license, she worked at multiple facilities across Pennsylvania, Georgia, Tennessee, and beyond. Many employers never knew they’d hired an impostor until investigators called.
You may be asking yourself, “How did this even happen?” Trust me, I asked myself the same question!
One-time checks = one big loophole
Most agencies and facilities run a single license check at the time of hire. Womack’s stolen credentials were tied to real nurses, so everything looked valid at first glance.
No identity verification beyond documents
In today’s remote-first staffing world, many agencies never see their candidates face-to-face, which makes it easier for impostors to get through with a convincing fake ID.
Desperation meets opportunity
In a healthcare staffing crisis, speed often wins out over scrutiny. Womack took full advantage of short-staffed facilities needing “any nurse available, now.”
Do you need a nurse “now” but need help with credentialing? Contact Us Now!
What This Means for Facilities
When a facility hires through a staffing agency, they trust that credentials are valid, verified, and legal. Here’s what you should ask every staffing partner:
- Are you Joint Commission–certified?
- Do you use real-time credential monitoring?
- Do you verify identities and run aliases through databases?
- Can you show documentation audits on demand?
If the answer isn’t a confident yes, you’re taking a risk.
ATC’s Approach to Healthcare Staffing Compliance
When I first read the article, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Would our team at ATC have caught her? Would our systems, checks, and credentialing processes have flagged someone like Shannon Womack before she ever reached a facility?”
I’m proud to say: YES, we absolutely would have! Our compliance protocols are designed to catch exactly this kind of fraud, like a fly in a web.
At ATC, we don’t cut corners. In fact, we recently passed our Joint Commission audit with flying colors 🪂, and here’s exactly why:
- Real-Time License Monitoring We don’t just verify licenses once – we monitor them continuously.
- Identity Verification + Alias Detection We verify SSNs and names using national databases to detect any red flags.
- I‑9 + E-Verify with ID Matching Unlike many staffing agencies, we validate documents through E-Verify and use real-time photo ID verification to ensure a candidate is who they say they are.
- Multi-Layer Credentialing Our credentialing goes a step beyond by confirming education and licensing with the source. We require original, verifiable documents. We conduct internal audits every quarter.
Bottom Line: Compliance Is a Competitive Advantage
At ATC, we have built a culture of proactive compliance. Our tech-driven systems, deep audits, and hands-on credentialing processes are designed to prevent cases like Womack’s from ever happening on our watch.
Your patients deserve safe, qualified care. Your facility deserves a partner you can trust.
👉 Contact ATC today to get compliant, stay staffed, and sleep better at night.