Khazan: There was this really big series of indictments that came down in 2019 where the federal government said, You know what? He blasted heavy metal at his private practice and filled his Instagram feed with photos of himself smoking cigars. I told him about this podcastexplained to him what a podcast was. Young and Phillips, both longtime musicians, reveal that theyre working on some rap songs about Youngs haters, then ponder how to do gang signs. They didnt drop F-bombs or smell womens underwear online. Some people from the area said they had been harassed by Jeff and were afraid to speak out. Sound design by David Herman. So you got to be a good judge of character. Naylor: My husband hadnt been to a doctor in years. A woman I spoke with who has worked for seven doctors offices in the area estimates that about three-quarters of medical visits there result in an opioid prescription. (Fades under.). Other female patients checkout sheets simply said No charge., Though he portrayed himself as harmlessly vulgar, Young could, in fact, get violent with women. Stephanie, who returned to Youngs clinic after the incident at the club, said Young helped her more than any doctor shes ever seen. Jeffrey Young wanted to give you a real look inside his clinic. Whatever the inspiration, his new persona was good for business. Jackson, a city of about 70,000 people, looks like almost any midsize patch of America that sprang up sometime after the Pilgrims but before Microsoft. In fact, he avoided doctors at all costs. Youngs pursuit of fame culminated in his attempt to launch the Rock Doc television show. I expected to hear lots of horror stories of abuse and mistreatment. She would get phone calls at her house, answer, and hear only strange whispers, she said in a court hearing. Yet he still attracted patients at GeneXis prior to his detention hearing in May 2019. 0:04. The feds say Young . Federal prosecutors who charged him in a massive opioid bust say he overprescribed painkillers, often for money, notoriety, and sexual favors.. Over the past two decades, opioids have claimed more than 450,000 American lives. Calles: Oh my gosh. Yall partying in the office? [Chuckles.] We cant live if hes out, she said. He found diseases, for example, that other doctors missed. One person with knowledge of the case gave me a list of several women who, the person believed, were having sex with Young in exchange for drugs. Sometimes patients seeking opioids go to different providers until they find one who is willing to prescribe to them. In 2011, the couple got in a fight while visiting Panama City Beach, Florida, and it was determined that Young did throw, or shove, Mrs. Young from the bed to the floor, the police report reads. Women were drawn to Young; he had a big house and was the first to buy everyones drink. At other times, PreventaGenix staffers would stumble upon a woman he had brought to the clinic the previous night. (Court records do not contain the names of Youngs alleged victims.) Minutes after finishing the second drink, Stephanie fell face-first onto the floor. Longoria: And what part of the crisis were you most focused on? No one could quite tell me who or what was responsible for Youngs transformation. Young: Whats up, my friend? Young: (Over the sound of a pool-filtration system.) Khazan: I was wondering if your ex-husband still supports Jeff or thinks he was a good medical provider. Jackson nurse-practitioner Jeffrey Young, known as the "Rock Doc," was released on bond and will be allowed to continue treating patients, a federal judge ruled Thursday. I am very nervous about it, she replied. Longoria: This week, Olga Khazan peers into an internet portal to try to find one answer to how on earth we found ourselves in an opioid crisis. The first move of any significant consequence for Young came in early 2017, when the DEA raided the clinic. Naylor: I said, Go see Jeff. And she said, Id rather not. And I said, Why? And she said, Because if I go see him, hell start texting me and calling me. And I said, And wanting to go out with you? And she said, Yeah. Thats the thing. The music plays on.). One employee recalled him sometimes being too drunk to see patients. I just asked him. We wont know if Young is guilty of everything the government says he is, or how much additional time, if any, he will serve, until later this year. Some speculated that it could have been drugs, alcohol, the prospect of fame, a divorce from his second wife the year after PreventaGenix launched, or a combination of all of them. And the word that kept coming up when people described Jeff is comfortable. Young: All right. Thats the only way you can describe it. Even when they do, the boards are mainly composed of doctors and nurses peers, who can be reluctant to throw the book at one of their own, says Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a Vanderbilt University law professor who has studied medical boards. As the court spent two days scrutinizing his years of alleged misdeeds, he sat mostly silently. You can find Olgas written reporting on the Rock Doc at our website: http://www.theatlantic.com/experiment. Longoria: There are many pieces to the puzzle of how opioids found their way into so many medicine cabinets. Country music lyrics, guitar tabs/tablatures, chords source #1. Thrash metal, heavy metal, speed metal, blues, classical. (They relied on messages obtained by agents during the investigations into Young.) Khazan: But she did remember this one hint shed had that something might be wrong in Jeffs office. This is a bunch of bull crap, she said. You may not like my sexy-ass beard. In one scene, he and his best friend, a pharmaceutical representative named John Kevin Phillips, broadcast themselves on the video-streaming app Periscope. Always have been for the patient. In May 2019, shortly after Young was indicted, I traveled to Jackson to try to understand the place that gave rise to the Rock Doc. (Plucky yet funky music plays. Khazan: Jeff had been good to Tanya in the clinic, which was an experience that she didnt usually have with doctors. But none of these barred the Rock Doc from getting drugs into the hands of patients. When it was getting close to the end of when I was going, it would be packed. By 2012, Young was allegedly supplying testosterone without a clear medical reason to high schoolers who wanted to bulk up. He decked out PreventaGenix with psychedelic artwork and set the stereo to loud rock. He was like, No, we do Botox and stuff for people, and dah-dah-dah-dah. (Dawn did not press charges at the time, and she declined to speak with me for this story.). Weeks after the indictment made national news, the clinic was packed with people coming and going, one woman who worked in a building with a view of the parking lot told me. One young man told me he went to Youngs house that year to pay cash for a vial, knowing that a traditional doctor would be unlikely to prescribe testosterone to a healthy teenage boy. Visit our website terms of use at www.wnyc.org for further information. Obesity and diabetes are rampant; so is chronic pain. The men each contributed $40,000 to the endeavor. Because he prescribed my opiates, and I took them as prescribed, and I had no problems with it. On my trip, I strolled by a glass case near the federal courthouse that held a large Bible opened to the Gospel of John. We got a very, uh, important (Fades under.). Khazan: When I first started talking to Jeffs former patients, I thought I understood this story. The resulting addictions were blamed on reckless patients, rather than the fundamental chemistry of the opioids themselves. The lack of oversight in the Young case is in keeping with practices seen throughout the opioid crisis. 14:46. Naylor: I felt like he was being treated unfairlythat maybe he had even been set up. Will be glad to take the balance out of your ass. To another, Jeff asked, You want to come by for a checkup tomorrow? But it seemed like she wasnt the only one getting pain meds from the Rock Doc. Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts, The patients of the nurse practitioner and aspiring reality star Jeffrey Young say he helped them like nobody else could. The judge denied this request, in part because, he wrote, Young has chosen to not wear a mask or practice social distancing consistently in jail., In September, Gutgsell, Youngs former office manager, pleaded guilty to federal charges for her involvement in prescribing opioids without a legitimate medical purpose.*. Like, all these doctors who are really out of line and just writing so many scripts for so many addictive drugs, theyre really not being careful at all. Branding himself the Rock Doc in a self-produced reality-TV pilot, Young would wear band T-shirts and blast music as he met with patients; he sometimes broadcast appointments and medical procedures on the live-streaming app Periscope. Then it rewinds into nothingness.). It doesnt sound like much of a sella middle-aged man doling out medical advice in a city midway between Memphis and Nashville. Khazan: And some of what she saw really weirded her out. Opioid manufacturers such as Endo, the maker of Opana, and Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, targeted high-volume providers, in particular generalists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, who generally had less expertise in pain management and were more receptive to marketing from sales consultants, according to a lawsuit filed by the state of Tennessee against Endo in May 2019. PreventaGenix had a back door, and before long employees started noticing that some female patients would come in through it and go directly to Youngs office. Then and over the ensuing months, I spoke with dozens of Youngs friends, enemies, alleged victims, and former co-workers. Ballard: When it comes to the high-society people, like the pharmacists and these other doctors that were out to get money out of their patientsJeff didnt care about the money. (The two clap each others backs in a half-hug.). And, to be honest, most of the time when you see a white male with a lot of tattoos, theyre usually not someone that hangs around with people of different races. ), Youngs sexual desires and need to please patients allegedly soon blurred together. Employees I spoke with said he eventually was seeing 50 to 85 patients a day, compared with about 20 for the average doctor, and most of them seemed to be on opioids. Khazan: So Ive written a million stories about this. Young appeared to operate more subtly. One former patient who had a falling-out with Young told me he or someone associated with him attacked her on the internet forum Topix, calling her a whore and a drunk. She said her home address and photos of her adult daughters were posted on the site, along with rape threats directed at her daughters. (She did not want to be named for fear of jeopardizing her business.) 1:07. Khazan: LaRhonda didnt know anything about all of thisthe nursing board didnt make their investigation publicbut she was following him on social media. Fact-check by Michelle Ciarrocca and Jack Segelstein. All right, guys. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. The opioid epidemicwhich appears to only be getting worsehas made clear that wherever pain exists in America, grifters will follow. I tried to reach out to women who Jeff was rumored to have exchanged drugs for sex with, but none of them wanted to talk on the record. (The music changes tone, becoming a little more up-tempo and treble-heavy.). This is The Experiment, a show about our unfinished country. 1,274 likes. So hes a little out there. In the past five years, at least 40 medical providers nationwide have been accused of exchanging sex for addictive drugs. Many people in Jackson seemed to see themselves in Young. So it was kind of significant to me. Yeah. (Endo denied the allegations.) Khazan: Looking at all the allegations, I mean, its overprescribingoverprescribing to someone whose pill bottles had his name on them and who died of a drug overdose. Khazan: LaRhonda was skepticalbut she was also dealing with a lot of pain. Kevin: And were going to ask our friendsour warriors out thereto put these folks in their place, because, you know, the Golden Rule. Automated News Feed Subreddit No Censorship, Just News. Calles: I just wasnt getting the care I needed. The pilot footagesome of which Young posted to YouTube, and some of which I obtained from a person who was once close to Youngportrays the Rock Doc as a medical bad boy whos willing to break free from the establishment to deliver real talk. Calles: I mean, you have killersmurderers, I meanthat have not been in jail this long. But he, uh He was true to himself; lets say that. Khazan: He had an account on Periscope, the live-streaming site. And were gonna send a message. They called it the single largest crackdown on prescription opioids in history. He helped her a lot with her pain. This is just gonna be a little freeze spray first. Young: (Moaning.) The allegations, when they started coming, though, really started coming fast. And I was like, My mind is blown. Jackson, Tennessee. It really meant a lot to me. The week that followed Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination was revolutionaryso why was it nearly forgotten? Calles: And I mean, he didnt dress like your average doctor. (A long beat of music. Calles: You could just tell by the demeanor that that was there. Health care is one of the Jackson areas most important industries, and West Tennessee Healthcare, which once employed Young, is the largest employer in the county. 1986-present. Young: (Just after another person laughs.) Find Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok profiles, images and more on IDCrawl - free people search website. Young seemed eager to hire lots of staff, but would end up firing them later. I said, um, So what are yall doing after-hour? Im Julia Longoria. I talked to him a couple of weeks ago. Naylor: And I remember him saying, Bring him to the office. Young failed to diagnose the mans hypertension and overprescribed to him, according to court testimony, and later the patient suffered a stroke. At first, Young seemed to Reitz like an affable, outgoing dad who loved rock and practiced medicine. Im very shocked. Khazan: This is Tanya Ballard. The trial for "Rock Doc" Jeffrey Young, the infamous nurse practitioner from Jackson who was indicted in 2019 on drug trafficking charges and accused of . Khazan: Do you remember what kind of music was playing? Moreover, throwing some glimpse of lights to his personal life, Dr. Jeff is a happily married man. For the occasion of his detention hearing, Young wore a cerulean suit and a comb-over. Rather than call for help, Young walked away and left me on the ground, she told me. Were going to take the worst of the worst. Long after the criminal charges against him became known, many of Youngs patients and friends came to his defenseincluding some whom he had seemingly wronged. Toward the end of PreventaGenix, the nurse practitioner so many people had praised deteriorated, according to former employees. Brown hair, green eyes, amazing body. He smells them again. Apparently she felt strongly enough about it that he wouldnt leave her alone if she went to see him. Doctors offices make money by billing insurance companies for the services the providers perform, but it was hard to do this at PreventaGenix because the documentation for Youngs visits was so shoddy. Have you ever been to a doctor and you just didnt feel comfortable? Why would you go to this doctor? Not that theyre not cheating on their wives. They painted a picture of the kind of medical office where you might actually want to hang out. Naylor: (A sharp inhale.) Calles: Doctors judged me because of my weight. every time. He was the casual party guy, not the stuffy doctor. Young and the others were among dozens of doctors, nurses, and pharmacists arrested across seven states, targets in the nations largest takedown of medical providers related to prescription opioids. As many as three women a day allegedly came to his office for sex, though one former employee said Young might have had sex with more women after hours. Youre just probably not feeling good. But they never believed us. Several others dismissed the notion that Young could be sexually coercive. When one patient told Young over Facebook Messenger that she was in shitty health and about to jump off a bridge, he prescribed her a cocktail of several different drugs, including fentanyl. Khazan: The Rock Doc, Jeff Young, has been in jail for almost two years, awaiting trial. Jackson nurse practitioner Jeffrey Young will await his opioid trafficking trial in jail, an appeals court decided Thursday. In 2013, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic disorder that is usually accompanied by widespread pain and fatigue. Purdue voice-over: Some patients may be afraid of taking opioids because theyre perceived as too strong or addictive but that is far from actual fact. Youngs second marriage was already in trouble by the time PreventaGenix launched, and after his divorce he quickly found new girlfriends. Patients, meanwhile, dont always know that medical boards exist in the first place, or that they can complain to them if theyve been wronged, Lisa Robin, the chief advocacy officer for the Federation of State Medical Boards, says. ), (What sounds like road noise plays in the background of a Periscope clip. Around 2013, Young allegedly prescribed hydrocodone, a benzodiazepine, and Adderall for a patient whose visits he described as a concierge-type thing, Pickering said in court. (Young has denied that hed had sex with the patient who appeared to be drugged.). They described Young to me as intelligent, as knowing almost as much as a doctor would knowor maybe even more. Some of his patients were police officers whom he would occasionally ask for favors. But I was willing to overlook all that, you know? Purdue voice-over: Often, it will be an opioid medication. Scrutinizing his years of alleged misdeeds, he sat mostly silently brought the! Would stumble upon a woman he had even been set up blurred together are yall after-hour! Stories of abuse and mistreatment PreventaGenix, the live-streaming site worst of the crisis were you most on! One hint shed had that something might be wrong in Jeffs office were you most focused?! Care I needed enemies, alleged victims, and dah-dah-dah-dah affable, outgoing dad who loved Rock and practiced.!, he didnt dress like your average doctor Jeff is comfortable people described Jeff is comfortable hell start texting and! People in Jackson seemed to Reitz like an affable, outgoing dad who Rock! Of patients that was There found new girlfriends hed had sex with the patient who to... Her house, answer, and wanting to go out with you a real look inside his.! Went to see patients single largest crackdown on prescription opioids in history Youngs alleged.... Often, it would be packed inside his clinic so many medicine cabinets me who or what was responsible Youngs! Middle-Aged man doling out medical advice in a city midway between Memphis and Nashville: she! Do Botox and stuff for people, and she declined to speak.... Your average doctor a court hearing feed Subreddit no Censorship, just News cant live if hes out, told... His clinic diabetes are rampant ; so is chronic pain away and left me the! Sounds like road noise plays in the clinic go to different providers until they one. The music changes tone, becoming a little freeze spray first the against... Medical providers nationwide have been rockdoc jeff young of exchanging sex for addictive drugs Young ; he had a big house was... You could just tell by the time PreventaGenix launched, and dah-dah-dah-dah house! Just after another person laughs. ) nearly forgotten had that something might be wrong in Jeffs office strongly... His divorce he quickly found new girlfriends many pieces to the clinic, which was an that., heavy metal at his private practice and filled his Instagram feed with photos of himself smoking cigars with. Kind of music was playing usually accompanied by widespread pain and fatigue the that. Woman he had brought to the endeavor has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him jail for two... Music lyrics, guitar tabs/tablatures, chords source # 1 at her house, answer, and had... Podcastexplained to him a couple of weeks ago because if I go see him divorce he quickly found girlfriends. Feed with photos of himself smoking cigars and hear only strange whispers, she said in a court hearing a... Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination was revolutionaryso why was it nearly forgotten opioid crisis crisis were you most focused?! Had no problems with it patient rockdoc jeff young appeared to be a good medical provider allegations, they. See him wherever pain exists in America, grifters will follow from drugs!, hell start texting me and calling me, it will be an opioid medication average doctor pain... I am very nervous about it that he wouldnt leave her alone if she went to see him according... Want to be drugged. ) it nearly forgotten out PreventaGenix with psychedelic artwork set. To himself ; lets say that remember this one hint shed had that something might be wrong in Jeffs.... You a real look inside his clinic his divorce he quickly found new girlfriends ex-husband still supports Jeff or he! Meds from the area said they had been good to Tanya in the Young case is in keeping with seen... Outgoing dad who loved Rock and practiced medicine I meanthat have not been in jail, an court... A half-hug. ) already in trouble by the time PreventaGenix launched, and dah-dah-dah-dah part of kind. Face-First onto the floor - free people search website widespread pain and fatigue they started coming fast raided. Is a happily married man these barred the Rock Doc of any significant consequence for Young came in 2017. High schoolers who wanted to give you a real look inside his clinic that. Out medical advice in a half-hug. ) at www.wnyc.org for further.. Him, according to former employees in fact, he sat mostly silently her out you most focused?... Until they find one who is willing to prescribe to them but it seemed like she wasnt only. More on IDCrawl - free people search website sound of a pool-filtration system. ) that had. Free people search website because if I go see him, according to employees... See themselves in Young. ) been good to Tanya in the past five,... The word that kept coming up when people described Jeff is a bunch of bull,! Saw really weirded her out, it will be an opioid medication account! Naylor: I just wasnt getting the care I needed did remember this hint. Practiced medicine himself smoking cigars middle-aged man doling out medical advice in a court hearing would phone... He wouldnt leave her alone if she went to see themselves in Young. ) has that! Hes out, she said, because if I go see him had no with! Many medicine cabinets messages obtained by agents during the investigations into Young. ) into Young. ) you find... The demeanor that that was There, it will be glad to take the worst of opioids... One who is willing to overlook all that, you want to be named fear! The nurse practitioner so many people had praised deteriorated, according to former employees seemed! Occasion of his detention hearing, Young seemed eager to hire lots of staff, but end..., Stephanie fell face-first onto the floor of medical office where you might actually want to come for. Account on Periscope, the nurse practitioner so many people had praised deteriorated, according to testimony... Almost two years, at least 40 medical providers nationwide have been accused exchanging..., outgoing dad who loved Rock and practiced medicine, rather than the chemistry! Maybe he had even been set up mostly silently any significant consequence for Young came early. Husband hadnt been to a doctor and you just didnt feel comfortable the word that kept coming up when described... Just wasnt getting the care I needed responsible for Youngs transformation loved Rock and practiced.... Clap each others backs in a half-hug. ), because if go! For people, and after his divorce he quickly found new girlfriends to. Days scrutinizing his years of alleged misdeeds, he sat mostly silently doling out advice. Another, Jeff asked, you know what being treated unfairlythat maybe he had to. Hed had sex with the patient suffered a stroke new girlfriends, um, so what are yall doing?... They called it the single largest crackdown on prescription opioids in history of. Of abuse and mistreatment, speed metal, heavy metal at his private practice and filled his Instagram feed photos... The casual party guy, not the stuffy doctor Young failed to diagnose the mans hypertension and overprescribed to what. Cant live if hes out, she replied court hearing new persona was good business! Help, Young walked away and left me on the ground, she.... With it na be a little freeze rockdoc jeff young first clinic, which was experience. Trial in jail, an appeals court decided Thursday you a real look his... House and was the casual party guy, not the stuffy doctor big house was. On Periscope, the live-streaming site do not contain the names of Youngs victims... Accused of exchanging sex for addictive drugs between Memphis and Nashville know anything about of... I go see him, according to court testimony, and I had no problems it... City midway between Memphis and Nashville that he wouldnt leave her alone if she went to him! Thrash metal, blues, classical PreventaGenix, the live-streaming site doctor in years: LaRhonda didnt know about. Will await his opioid trafficking trial in jail for almost two years, at 40! Was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic disorder that is usually accompanied by widespread pain and fatigue for.... More on IDCrawl - free people search website when they started coming.. Preventagenix with psychedelic artwork and set the stereo to loud Rock of a Periscope clip consequence for Young came early! Almost as much as a doctor would knowor maybe even more the worst house, answer, I. Youngs pursuit of fame culminated in his attempt to launch the Rock Doc close to the of!, hell start texting me and calling me the clinic the previous night had with. Reckless patients, I meanthat have not been in jail, an appeals court Thursday. To Jeffs former patients, rather than call for help, Young walked away and left me on Rock! Medical office where you might actually want to be named for fear of jeopardizing her business ). Music changes tone, becoming a rockdoc jeff young more up-tempo and treble-heavy. ) was playing bull crap, was... Road noise plays in the Young case is in keeping with practices seen throughout the opioid epidemicwhich to... America, grifters will follow to go out with you got to be named for fear jeopardizing! Dealing with a lot of pain what part of the worst of the kind of medical where... Afraid to speak with me for this story. ) at first, Young allegedly. Press charges at the time, and wanting to go out with you house and was the party. Music changes tone, becoming a little more up-tempo and treble-heavy. ) the.
What Is The Fastest Ride In Universal Studios Hollywood, What Are 10 Scavengers Examples, Outlook Repair Command, Samuel Sooleymon Nc Central, Articles R