(The DEA declined to comment on Youngs case for this story.) 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. This episode was reported by Olga Khazan and produced by Alvin Melathe. A transcript of this episode is presented below: (Abruptly, rock music begins to play, and then, just as quickly, it ends with a light echo.). One patient she knew kept a cane in the trunk of her car and visited doctors offices with it in order to appear disabled so she could get more pills. And he said, You be sure and tell them that Jeff is the best doctor Ive ever seen. He said, Promise me you will tell them that. I said, I promise I will. I said, I will tell them that., (The music plays up for a long moment, then fades out under the narration.). And Jeff, sitting at the center of it, covered in tattooshe had a sort of unlikely charisma too. The story of how that doctor-patient communication broke downhundreds of thousands of timesis what Olga wanted to understand. Yes. (Laughs heartily.). For the cosmetically minded, he hosted alcohol-fueled Botox parties. 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. So, uh, here we are, sitting by the pool. The feds say Young . Even after this, she returned to Young as a patient. Off camera, Young allegedly prescribed 1.4 million addictive pills and had sex with female patients. So it just kind of, I guess, comforted me. 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. 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. Stephanie had been in an abusive relationship and dealt with a slew of other traumas. (The music opens up into a technologic rainforest as synthesizers mimic birdsong.). People who criticized Young swiftly became his enemies. (A moment of narrative silence. Im Julia Longoria. Dont worry, my tattoos dont like you either, one image reads. Not that half of the, you know powers that be are on some sort of whatever. He was always polite. In one post, tagged with American holocaust, he writes, I have always been a survivor and have scars of significance to symbolize thus, and this is where they have underestimated me and my resolve., In March 2020, after the coronavirus pandemic broke out, Young petitioned the court to be released to house arrest because he was on immunosuppressive drugs for a kidney transplant he had years ago and was concerned about the risk of complications from COVID-19. In April 2019, he was indicted on drug-trafficking charges, along with five other medical providers in Jackson, two of whom were the supervising physicians Young, as a nurse practitioner, was required to have. The cameraman who shot the pilot, who requested anonymity because he doesnt want to be associated with Youngs case, heard about Young through a mutual friend and visited him several times to shoot footage for what he hoped could become a reality show. Young was, in short, a medical provider who acted like everyones best friend. The agents seized about 350 of Youngs patient charts and every computer in the office, according to Gutgsell, the former office manager, and the notice of seizure states that about 10,000 individual doses of hydrocodone were also taken. Patel left soon after. But none of these barred the Rock Doc from getting drugs into the hands of patients. Khazan: So Ive written a million stories about this. [Laughs.] In March 2019, the health department received a complaint that Young had inappropriate sexual contact with patients, and sent him a letter of warning without disciplining him. 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. Young appeared to operate more subtly. Years before the launch of PreventaGenix, Young had already been accused of abusing his nurse-practitioner license. Having hordes of fans seems to have allowed Young to buy more deeply into his own rock-and-roll fantasy, which in turn gave him the confidence to broadcast his life through even more videos and updates. [Chuckles.] Make and Model: The only Billboard Hot 100 entry for new wave greats The Cars with an automotive title to match their band name . Defending himself in one of his on-camera interviews, Young acknowledges that he is maybe a little untraditional and that he might like to drink a little bit after hours. But, he says, Im very passionate about what I do I work hard, but I play harder. Youngs practice was, for a time, an inexpensive, reliable option for medical care in Jackson. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. American doctors went on to prescribe opioids at much higher rates than their counterparts in other countries. The daughter, Melody, actually works in her dad's vet clinic. Scott Deberry: You go to the doctor, and you tell them whats wrong with you, and they look at you like, Oh, its nothing. And I said, And they say that youre trading sex for medication. He was like, You know, these motherfuckers lie all the damn time. [Chuckles.] Khazan: And Christi also told me a very similar thing as the other patients I talked to: Shes had terrible experiences with other doctors. Khazan: There was this really big series of indictments that came down in 2019 where the federal government said, You know what? To deal with the latter, the city, like so many others in America, has become ever more reliant on opioids. The biggest blow came in 2019, when Jeff was indicted by the federal government for overprescribing opioids, often in order to get, quote, money, notoriety, and sexual favors., In a court hearing, investigators described several Facebook messages between Jeff and his patients, identified only by their initials. Though he was not an M.D., Young christened himself the Rock Doc.. (Fades under.). You could see, almost, when you were talking to him, he was listeningand he was thumping that pen to the beat of the music. It surprised her, but Jeff was attuned to all that. Thats the big joke. Not that theyre not cheating on their wives. In 2013, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic disorder that is usually accompanied by widespread pain and fatigue. Ultimately, what hastened Youngs downfall is that some of the female patients asking him for drugs were undercover officers. Trust me, I got people, he says to the camera. He tied the knot with his beautiful wife Dr. Petra. Khazan: The way I first got to know Jeff Young was through videos he posted online. It really meant a lot to me. The grosser side. ET on January 28, 2021. To date, none of the alleged victims in Youngs court case has come forward publicly to speak against him. Khazan: The first time I watched this video, I just heard Jeff making excuses. Khazan: The Rock Doc, Jeff Young, has been in jail for almost two years, awaiting trial. The week that followed Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination was revolutionaryso why was it nearly forgotten? Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com. To one patient, who he prescribed hydrocodone, amphetamines, and fentanyl, he said, I accept all insurance. The lack of oversight in the Young case is in keeping with practices seen throughout the opioid crisis. Khazan: Tanya had a different theory about where all the criticism was actually coming from. Naylor: They just immediately hit it off. Rock Doc pilot testimonial: (Over heavy rock music.) She texted Jeff. This distinction is important, because while nurse practitioners are functioning in the same capacity as physiciansordering and interpreting We thought we would close out the daythe third Periscope of the daywith a little fireside chat. Young became known for putting drugs into the hands of almost anyone who asked. 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. Sometimes the two men would fight, and broken glass would litter the floor. Khazan: When Jeffs indictment became public, LeAnnlike many of his former patientswas suspicious at first. Why didnt anyone try to put a stop to this? I just had a lot of questions about how could this happen., Further reading: The Hard-Partying, Rock-Obsessed Nurse at the Center of a Massive Opioid Bust. Jeffrey " Jeff " Young (born March 31, 1962) is an American guitarist. Find Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok profiles, images and more on IDCrawl - free people search website. Jackson Sun. Khazan: He worked in the timber industry, and one day at work, he got overheated and disoriented. 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. Have you ever been to a doctor and you just didnt feel comfortable? The former patient told me she became afraid to leave her house. Wear a short skirt and no panties.. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. [A moment of indistinct crosstalk.] Well all be killed., It helped that Young had prominent friends he could call on for help. 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. Khazan: Jeff had been good to Tanya in the clinic, which was an experience that she didnt usually have with doctors. (Court records do not contain the names of Youngs alleged victims.) 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. At the beginning of the opioid epidemic, the autonomy of doctors to prescribe opioids was almost limitless, Keith Humphreys, a Stanford University professor who researches mental-health policy, says. In 2012, Young was working at a cardiology practice in Jackson when, with a consultant named Rich Reitz and cardiologist named Dharmesh Patel, he set up a side business giving talks to doctors about treating heart attacks and strokes. Longoria: Olga Khazan is a staff writer at The Atlantic whos been covering the opioid epidemic for the last seven years. But they helped create the opioid crisis all the same. (The two clap each others backs in a half-hug.). Fact-check by Michelle Ciarrocca and Jack Segelstein. ), (The intro to a rock song plays, with a driving, pulsing beat. But when he suggested it the way he did, I took it seriously. Longoria: There are many pieces to the puzzle of how opioids found their way into so many medicine cabinets. Young cries at his sons fifth-grade graduation, then explains that hes so emotional because his nurses are having their periods. The next morning, the office manager, Kristie Gutgsell, would clean up after them. Minutes after finishing the second drink, Stephanie fell face-first onto the floor. Stephanie would accompany him to different clubs in the area, and wherever he went, she said, he was surrounded by hired bodyguards and friends she called bouncers, who were around for the times when he drank too much or flirted with women and got into fights with their boyfriends. 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 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.*. Khazan: Do you remember what kind of music was playing? One agent testified in court that the bureau had uncovered Facebook messages such as one sent to Young in August 2016 by someone known in court as SW: My girl for eight years is an addict You write her any more scripts youre going to kill her, man. Meanwhile, many of Youngs patient charts had allegedly stopped being monitored: One supervising physician came in once, reviewed Youngs charts, and withdrew from the supervising agreement immediately based on what he saw. 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. Kevin: And were going to ask our friendsour warriors out thereto put these folks in their place, because, you know, the Golden Rule. Im in the middle of a life-saving procedure here. This is just gonna be a little freeze spray first. Youngs devotees have maintained for years that he was a great man on a noble mission, and that people who spoke against him didnt understand his radical approach. Unnamed guest: I cant believe he stabbed himself (Fades under.). ), Youngs sexual desires and need to please patients allegedly soon blurred together. Ballard: Most doctors dont wanna touch you, and they only wanna address one issue at a time. Khazan: Christi Calles was the patient who loved listening to Stairway to Heaven.. Khazan: Thirty-one doctors and seven other nurse practitioners were busted in that same Justice Department sweep that caught Jeff. In addition to steroid shots, Young prescribed her oxycodone, Xanax, and Adderall for her various medical issues. He graduated from Musicians Institute in 1985, and is best known for his time with the thrash metal band Megadeth, appearing on the 1988 album So Far, So Good. The Rock Doc affectations, Louvaris said, merely show that hes different from other doctors. Stephanie, who returned to Youngs clinic after the incident at the club, said Young helped her more than any doctor shes ever seen. But the more time I spent thinking about it, the more I started to realize that Jeff has a point. But that did not put a stop to Youngs ambitions. Aggressive marketing is one piece of it. Young: So, the, uh, the sinister ministerthat would be me (Fades under again.). The resulting videos are typical scenes from a medical practicepeople donning gloves, waiting in chairsspliced together over a heavy-metal soundtrack. Many told me that they didnt want to talk on the record. Khazan: Online, Jeff would get drunk and smoke cigars. Sometimes patients seeking opioids go to different providers until they find one who is willing to prescribe to them. The men each contributed $40,000 to the endeavor. Early in the epidemic, Purdue gave doctors OxyContin fishing hats and swing-music CDs to encourage them to prescribe more of the drug. This striking 6ft 3in person embodies kanji tattoos on his biceps, and the effortlessly cool personality will describe how one sees him. Khazan: LaRhonda was skepticalbut she was also dealing with a lot of pain. Young was indicted on drug-trafficking charges in April 2019. Khazan: In one sense, I understand some of Jeffs patients defensiveness toward him. The cause of death, according to the letter, was a probable cardiac event due to polypharmacy, or the simultaneous use of multiple drugs.. The whole thing was Very Online. Its joined at points by a line of harmony played on a synthesizer.). 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. Were tracing your fucking account now, so you better be prepared to reap the whirlwind of your bullshit., As he gathered followers, Young began to deploy his social-media presence to hunt down and intimidate his former employees and ex-friends, some of whom told me they felt threatened by Young and his followers. The allegations, when they started coming, though, really started coming fast. Khazan: LeAnns story was similar to Tanyas and LaRhondas and Christis. Young was among them. (The synthesizer takes over the harmony, traipsing up and down the melody line before it quiets and the episode ends.). On Instagram, photos tagged #preventagenix show Young on a motorcycle, surrounded by women. Women were drawn to Young; he had a big house and was the first to buy everyones drink. About four years after its investigation began, the nursing board finally held a hearing to consider his fate. They didnt play Stairway to Heaven or have Periscope accounts. You may not like what I stand for. She was referred to Jeff by one of her friends. Scott Deberry: But after a while, when you read stuff, how many people could be wrong? (Lo-fi synthesizer music plays up. Young failed to diagnose the mans hypertension and overprescribed to him, according to court testimony, and later the patient suffered a stroke. Scott Deberry: When I told him, I said, Every time I go to a doctor and tell them I feel like I have the flu, they look at me as if Im delusional.. Some female patients opted for a service the clinic offered that Young called VIP status, in which they paid $500 a year to skip the waiting room and get Youngs cellphone number, one former employee said. Young had an active channel on Periscope, where he and Phillips drank and waxed philosophical. Khazan: He had an account on Periscope, the live-streaming site. Some of the doctors who have been accused of exchanging drugs for sex in recent years threatened patients that they would cut off their supply of painkillers if they didnt gratify them. I expected to hear lots of horror stories of abuse and mistreatment. Because he prescribed my opiates, and I took them as prescribed, and I had no problems with it. And Im like, Oh. [A beat.] Rachel Fullington, an early employee of Youngs, told me Young wanted the clinics atmosphere to be loose and fun, while the others wanted it to be more buttoned-up. In 2016, Young, who was 42 at the time, invited a cameraman to shoot a pilot episode about his life as a nurse practitioner in Jackson, Tennessee. Khazan: When I first started talking to Jeffs former patients, I thought I understood this story. Jeffrey Youngs patients say he helped them like nobody else could, but prosecutors indicted him following a huge painkiller bust. Everybody pay fucking attention worldwide because Im about to save this motherfuckers lifelive on Periscope broadcast! Two bouncers made sure she got home, but when she woke up in bed the next morning, her eyes were black, her nose was broken, and her mouth was bleeding. the rock doc' jeff young. Pharmacists began to refuse to fill his prescriptions. 13.6k members in the AutoNewspaper community. And the word that kept coming up when people described Jeff is comfortable. Whether or not Young is convicted, the perverse incentives for doctors to see patients for short visits and to prescribe too many unnecessary drugs will remain. Its gonna be a little cold, all right? He has been arrested several times, though not convicted, for assaulting women. Automated News Feed Subreddit No Censorship, Just News. Rumors started to spread in town that strange things were going on in Jeffs office. They are often too under-resourced and understaffed to keep a watchful eye on all medical providers. Khazan: Jeff and his friend Kevin would often head to Periscope to defend themselves. Young: (Just after another person laughs.) Of course other doctors dont write as many prescriptions, the implication seemed to be. (Droning music, reflective and cool, plays.). 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. 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. Why would you go to this doctor? An active and fun show following the life of FNP Jeff Young II at work and his life after work. So what, I dont go get fucked up at the country club with the rest of the stiffs here in J-Town? RockDocTV Show. Naylor: (A sharp inhale.) Naylor: (A long beat and a breath.) Know his wife, age, net worth, family, (A long moment of music with no narration before it fades out. Jeffrey Young wanted to give you a real look inside his clinic. Naylor: My husband hadnt been to a doctor in years. I am a, uh, nurse practitioner. I had had back surgery, and I really had real problems that no one wanted to listen to me about. But she also told me the story of her ex-husband. Will be glad to take the balance out of your ass. He asked another patient, to whom he prescribed the opioid hydrocodone, to come in for a checkup the following day and wear a short skirt and no panties., Young was sometimes even more direct. Calles: And I mean, he didnt dress like your average doctor. Its heavy, and it loops. Dang, Jeff What happened? Helena Louvaris and Melanie Lupino, two of Youngs staunch defenders, both declined to speak with me when I called them back to see if they still supported him after he was jailed. 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. And no education whatsoever, Phillips jokes. And the consequences might have gone beyond sexual abuse and addiction. Natalia Ramirez: This episode of The Experiment was reported by Olga Khazan and produced by Alvin Melathe, with editing by Katherine Wells, Julia Longoria, and Denise Wills. Naylor: Yes, he does. And that was not the case at all. (Four years later, the health department received a complaint about this testosterone sideline, but the complaint was never assigned to an investigator, according to Pickering.) In the past two decades, overdoses involving prescription opioids have killed more than 232,000 peoplethe population of Jackson several times overand the major players in the epidemic are finally being held to account. From that day on, he saw him for everything. 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. Khazan: And sometimes theyd even ask their followers and fans to back them up. The patients of the nurse practitioner and aspiring reality star Jeffrey Young say he helped them like nobody else could. Theres actually a diagnosis called white-coat hypertension. Its when your blood pressure spikes in a doctors office because the whole experience is nerve-racking. 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. One employee recalled him sometimes being too drunk to see patients. I dont wear underwear. Look at me! As the cameraman who filmed the pilot told me, Everywhere he went, it was like the Beatles., But the way in which Young gained some of these fans has become the focus of a federal court case. Calles: Oh my gosh. With a heavy Mercy me, Phillips produces a pair of womens panties from a bag. Off camera, Young allegedly prescribed 1.4 million addictive pills and had sex with female patients. [Khazan laughs.] Longoria: The indictment against the Rock Doc alleges that he prescribed more than a million addictive pills, treated patients while intoxicated, and used his prescribing power to have sex with womenincluding women who were his patients. Calles: You could just tell by the demeanor that that was there. Still, the citys southernness peeks through. 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. I dont I dont even know what to say. At other times, PreventaGenix staffers would stumble upon a woman he had brought to the clinic the previous night. His lawyer also declined to answer any specific allegations. Less than half answered. The clinics aim would be to halt the parade of miseriesheart attacks, early deaths, hospital billsbrought on by the obesity epidemic. Thrash metal, heavy metal, speed metal, blues, classical. His Rock Doc persona helped him connect with patients who might never have felt comfortable in a traditional doctors office. The clinic mostly offered cosmetic treatments, and it was located in a strip mall in a more industrial part of town, next to a chiropractor and a place called Genes Tire & Wrecker. Im very shocked. And now we see the result. You can all suck my d***. When the local news station, WBBJ, posted a story about Youngs case on Facebook, the usual chorus of defenders raised their voices. Tanya Ballard: I think people are Just didnt like Jeff. He found diseases, for example, that other doctors missed. He blasted heavy metal at his private practice and filled his Instagram feed with photos of himself smoking cigars. Brown hair, green eyes, amazing body. He smells them again. (Dawn did not press charges at the time, and she declined to speak with me for this story.). The waiting room often overflowed with patients. All right, guys. They go on working. We got a very, uh, important (Fades under.). Throughout Youngs year-long treatment of MY, Young failed to conduct pill counts, consult a state database meant to monitor the dispensing of controlled substances, and discuss with MY the risks of combining these drugs, according to the document. MY came to PreventaGenix complaining of lower-back pain and numbness in his left arm, and asked for refills of pain medications. When you got all kinds of money, said Jon Benjamin Sharp, a local musician who used to see Young around town, you got all kinds of friends. (Sharp made clear that he himself wasnt a fan of Youngs.) Be part of The Experiment. Being around Young made her feel emotionally safe, she said. Purdue voice-over: Often, it will be an opioid medication. Strippers, tattoo artists, and rock-band groupies saw a kindred spirit in Young and came to him as patients. Occasionally he would glare at his ex-wife Dawn, who was in the gallery. Fact-check by Michelle Ciarrocca and Jack Segelstein. When I visited the clinic shortly before the hearing, Young had just finished up with a patient. Yall partying in the office? [Chuckles.] The Experiment is a co-production of The Atlantic and WNYC Studios. Khazan: The Rock Doc, Jeff Young, has been in jail for almost two years, awaiting trial. It was just rocked out. They described Young to me as intelligent, as knowing almost as much as a doctor would knowor maybe even more. Even now, I cant say that. Over the past two decades, opioids have claimed more than 450,000 American lives. And people in the pilot gave testimonials saying as much. Lax regulations played a role. Scott Deberry: I just didnt like all the bickering on social media and in that newspaper. Like many actual rock stars, he flamed out on his own extravagant lifestyle. Theyre standoffish towards you. (In response to a request for comment, a health-department spokesperson noted that, according to state law, the department cant suspend medical licenses without first giving practitioners the opportunity to demonstrate compliance regarding the allegations against them. When one video was apparently manipulated by one of his detractors and posted online, Young threatened whoever might have done it. This requirement is waived, however, in cases where public health, safety, or welfare imperatively requires emergency action.). 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. Khazan: I was wondering if your ex-husband still supports Jeff or thinks he was a good medical provider. In fact, he avoided doctors at all costs. Khazan: The videos were sarcastic and loose, intimate in their own bizarre way. He didnt mind saying a curse word or two.. His case before the nursing board stalled for two more years.
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