A Chesapeake nurse who worked as an anaesthetist for 16 years in Hampton Roads has been ordered by state regulators to surrender his license, according to a report from the Virginia Board of Nursing.
Kevin Coolong of Chesapeake was a certified registered nurse anesthetist with Atlantic Anesthesia from June 2008 until August 2024, when he resigned. His resignation came in the wake of a board investigation into complaints from four patients, identified only as Patients A, B, C and D.
Coolong Accused of Kissing, Stroking and Fondling Patients While They Were Sedated
The patients alleged Coolong kissed them, stroked them and fondled them while they were sedated. The Board of Nursing's investigation concluded that Coolong engaged in and admitted to non-consensual sexual conduct with the female patients.
According to the board's report, two of the four incidents took place at the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in February 2024 and Sentara Leigh Hospital in August 2018.
Coolong's alleged behavior included placing his thumb in a patient's mouth, kissing their lips, stroking their bodies and fondling their breasts. Two were maternity patients and the other two were in for orthopedic surgery.
Coolong Told Investigators 'They Asked for it,' Claimed He was Under the Impression They Liked Him
"They asked for it by the way they looked and talked," Coolong told investigators, according to the report, and described the patients as "clingy" and "needy," and was under the impression they liked him.
In one incident, Coolong allegedly told investigators "I can't lie to you. I kissed [Patient D] on the lips [while her eyes were closed]." In another, as a means of taking a patient's body temperature, he reached into a patient's gown and cupped her breast.
The Board made Coolong surrender his nursing license for life. In a consent order, he neither confirms nor denies the Board's findings and conclusions.
Sentara Healthcare Releases Statement
Sentara Healthcare spokesman Mike Kafka released the following statement Monday afternoon:
