The opioid epidemicwhich appears to only be getting worsehas made clear that wherever pain exists in America, grifters will follow. She doesnt think Young was the one who drugged her, but she believes nevertheless that she was drugged. Jeffrey " Jeff " Young (born March 31, 1962) is an American guitarist. No one else seemed capable of treating all her problemsthroat swelling, high blood pressure, attention issues. And if you want to help other people discover the show, share it online with the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. A few months into their new venture, Reitz and Young were supposed to meet to discuss the running of the clinic. Yes. Young would call these liaisons nooners or say it was tap-that-ass Tuesday, according to court testimony. A staffer, who declined to talk on the record, asked me why I was writing about him. He found diseases, for example, that other doctors missed. From that day on, he saw him for everything. Young: Whats up, my friend? He didnt pull any punches, she said. Some of Youngs dalliances with his patient-friends similarly took a dark turn. One story I found in a letter from Jeffs nursing-board case stuck with me. Looking for Jeff Young online? His Rock Doc persona helped him connect with patients who might never have felt comfortable in a traditional doctors office. An obese man explains that Young helped him with his swollen leg. If a patient would text him a compliment, he would blast it all over Facebook, one former employee told me. They didnt drop F-bombs or smell womens underwear online. Phillips popped off to a friend.). Hey, are you paying attention? It feels claustrophobic.). Minutes after finishing the second drink, Stephanie fell face-first onto the floor. I asked to speak with him for this story, but because of a gag order on the case, his lawyer declined interviews with me. Similarly, Young appeared to get the benefit of the doubt from virtually everyone. Jackson Sun. He was found in his bedroom, where the ambulance service discovered an empty syringe under his pillow and empty pill bottles on his bedside table that had been filled that month. The half-dozen former patients who did agree to talk with me were mostly people who wanted to defend Jeff. And people in the pilot gave testimonials saying as much. But you know what? Khazan: And sometimes theyd even ask their followers and fans to back them up. Former employees speculated that he met the women in bars. Rather than call for help, Young walked away and left me on the ground, she told me. Khazan: Jeff was working as a nurse practitioner at a clinic called Preventagenix in Jackson, Tennessee. The week that followed Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination was revolutionaryso why was it nearly forgotten? He didnt mind saying a curse word or two.. The week that followed Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination was revolutionaryso why was it nearly forgotten? So what, I dont go get fucked up at the country club with the rest of the stiffs here in J-Town? Moreover, throwing some glimpse of lights to his personal life, Dr. Jeff is a happily married man. The Rock Doc affectations, Louvaris said, merely show that hes different from other doctors. Whatever the inspiration, his new persona was good for business. Though many of these deaths have been caused by street drugs such as heroin and illegally manufactured fentanyl, the nations opioid epidemic was sparked by the kinds of painkillers medical providers prescribed. Young was indicted on drug-trafficking charges in April 2019. Sound design by David Herman. Some of his patients were police officers whom he would occasionally ask for favors. He made them feel comfortable in a way that no other doctor did. Young: So, the, uh, the sinister ministerthat would be me (Fades under again.). Hey! I visited Youngs clinic, but, through a staffer, he declined to speak with me. Im very shocked. This striking 6ft 3in person embodies kanji tattoos on his biceps, and the effortlessly cool personality will describe how one sees him. Strippers, tattoo artists, and rock-band groupies saw a kindred spirit in Young and came to him as patients. Khazan: The one that caught my eye was this guy named Jeff Young, a nurse practitioner who called himself the Rock Doc, quote-unquote. This episode was reported by Olga Khazan and produced by Alvin Melathe. 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. What a great, great, great, great song! Women were drawn to Young; he had a big house and was the first to buy everyones drink. Never give up God is full of second chances, one woman wrote. But they helped create the opioid crisis all the same. Other female patients checkout sheets simply said No charge., Though he portrayed himself as harmlessly vulgar, Young could, in fact, get violent with women. On Instagram, photos tagged #preventagenix show Young on a motorcycle, surrounded by women. (Stephanie asked me to use a pseudonym for her because she doesnt want her name associated with the case.) Not all of them were into the whole edgy hard-rock thing at first. He never admitted to anything that would make him look bad. Off camera, Young allegedly prescribed 1.4 million addictive pills and had sex with female patients. Its light and upbeat.). Young: Very nice. (Court records do not contain the names of Youngs alleged victims.) 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. Khazan: I talked to many of Jeffs patients. Youngs case provides a rare glimpse into the ways patients wind up addicted to the powerful painkillers fueling the national opioid epidemic. They painted a picture of the kind of medical office where you might actually want to hang out. Young would continue to prescribe drugs there for two more years. 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. 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. (A shudder, a gasp, then clapping and bubbling evolve into a background track.). Young was, in short, a medical provider who acted like everyones best friend. The men each contributed $40,000 to the endeavor. Trial dates have been set for "Rock Doc" Jeffery Young, his supervising physicians, and two more medical professionals recently indicted on additional drug trafficking charges. (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. He invited a cameraman to document his life and eventually had it edited into a pilot for a reality-TV show. She doesnt believe the allegations against him, and chalks them up to pure jealousy. Its hard to hear or believe that the only provider whod ever been kind to youwho made you comfortablehad been accused of abusing other patients. Longoria: Pharmaceutical companies marketed these drugs aggressively to doctors. Kevin: (In a Periscope video.) Khazan: I was wondering if your ex-husband still supports Jeff or thinks he was a good medical provider. 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. You can find Olgas written reporting on the Rock Doc at our website: http://www.theatlantic.com/experiment. I dont like him asking out my daughter But even then, I still went to him, and my ex-husband still went to him. As the nursing boards investigation of Young inched along, another agency launched its own probe into the Rock Doc. If you speak against me, she remembers him saying, youre gonna regret it.. Were going to take the worst of the worst. had lower back pain and complained of numbness in his left arm. She would wake up to find that all her car doors had been opened overnight. He was like, No, we do Botox and stuff for people, and dah-dah-dah-dah. Though he was not an M.D., Young christened himself the Rock Doc.. This is The Experiment, a show about our unfinished country. Khazan: Like, for example, here he is sniffing a pair of womens underwear with his sidekick, a friend named Kevin. Country music lyrics, guitar tabs/tablatures, chords source #1. 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. His lawyer also declined to answer any specific allegations. How was a nurse practitioner whose behavior was so outrageous allowed to treat patients for so long? Longoria: And what part of the crisis were you most focused on? [Chuckles.] Jeffery Dale Young known as Dr. Jeff Young or Dr. Jeff is American Veterinarian and a reality TV actor. (Fades under.). And now we see the result. They described Young to me as intelligent, as knowing almost as much as a doctor would knowor maybe even more. One admitted that Young had flirted with her. His vision was, evidently, to one day launch a reality series of the same name. Naylor: And I remember him saying, Bring him to the office. 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. (Fades under.). (The music changes tone, becoming a little more up-tempo and treble-heavy.). 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. The entire epidemic has been an unending story of doctors, pharmaceutical executives, and public officials blithely ignoring signs of danger. Wear a short skirt and no panties.. Khazan: Jeff had been good to Tanya in the clinic, which was an experience that she didnt usually have with doctors. Jackson, Tennessee. LeAnn Naylor: I have not had a lot of positive interactions with doctors. And Jeff, sitting at the center of it, covered in tattooshe had a sort of unlikely charisma too. 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. 0:04. The Tennessee Department of Health will not release audio recordings from a state investigation of "Rock Doc" Jeffrey W. Young II, a nurse practitioner who was allowed to stay in business . When one video was apparently manipulated by one of his detractors and posted online, Young threatened whoever might have done it. 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. It surprised her, but Jeff was attuned to all that. Im too good for you because I got this money, or whatever. You may not like what I stand for. She texted Jeff. His indictment implicated him and two of his former supervising physicians, Alexander Alperovich and Andrew Rudin, and alleged that Youngs motives in prescribing controlled substances to his patients were often to obtain money, notoriety, and sexual favors. Alperovich and Rudin, the indictment claims, accepted money derived from the proceeds of the conspiracy in exchange for their purported supervision. (Both have pleaded not guilty. It was a story her daughter told her about a time she got sick. The clinic sat on a quiet road crammed with other medical practicesa sleep doctor, a dentist, a nephrologist, an orthodontisteach in its own brick McMansion. The scenes are meant to serve as a testament to the effectiveness of Youngs work hard, play harder ethos. They didnt play Stairway to Heaven or have Periscope accounts. Khazan: He had an account on Periscope, the live-streaming site. Listen to the trailer for. 1:07. But she also told me the story of her ex-husband. Calles: I just wasnt getting the care I needed. Longoria: Olga Khazan is a staff writer at The Atlantic whos been covering the opioid epidemic for the last seven years. 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. (Young has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He pleaded not guilty to the . I asked to speak with him for this story, but because of a gag order on the case, his lawyer declined interviews with me. Alperovichs lawyer declined to comment.). I am a, uh, nurse practitioner. 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. Even now, I cant say that. 14:46. Jackson nurse practitioner Jeffrey Young will await his opioid trafficking trial in jail, an appeals court decided Thursday. The cost of producing the Rock Doc pilot, about $2,000, was entirely paid for by the clinic, Gutgsell claimed in a deposition. In November 2016, the health department threatened to file charges against Young before the board of nursing. Its a shame, he told me, that Young got into so much legal trouble; think of all the people he might have helped. So what? Jeff didnt monitor M.Y.s use, or talk to him about the danger of combining drugs. (There were different Jeff Youngs in [the Records Management System] and I had very little information so he was not added to the report, the police report states.) Calles: And I mean, he didnt dress like your average doctor. Why didnt anyone try to put a stop to this? I just had a lot of questions about how could this happen, you know? You ready? 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. We got a very, uh, important (Fades under.). On it, they found evidence of Young having sex with many different women, one of whom appeared to be motionless and had her eyes closed, a DEA agent testified later. But the allegations against him point toward what can be permissible, even celebrated, in a medical system built on profit. Its a small town; people talk. He soon opened a new clinic, which he called GeneXis Health. Even after this, she returned to Young as a patient. Heres what I can tell you. 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 first move of any significant consequence for Young came in early 2017, when the DEA raided the clinic. 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. In addition to steroid shots, Young prescribed her oxycodone, Xanax, and Adderall for her various medical issues. Lets see here, shes 23, Young says. Young had also allegedly begun siphoning off $100 almost every day from the clinic for his personal expenses, according to former employees. Still, the citys southernness peeks through. His case before the nursing board stalled for two more years. I just didnt feel comfortable. At first, Young seemed to Reitz like an affable, outgoing dad who loved rock and practiced medicine. 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. In another, he totters around with an empty bottle of bourbon and pans the camera over to Phillips, who is asleep on the couch. Many medical providers are small-business owners who operate with limited oversight from authorities. Oh, look, I got a new haircut today (Fades under.). Throughout the opioid epidemic, a distressing number of doctors have seen a perverse opportunity in Americans suffering. (The music crescendos before playing out into the break. I had a brother that passed away, and when he passed away, his friends played that for him at his funeral. Khazan: The videos were sarcastic and loose, intimate in their own bizarre way. Khazan: Does that change how you feel about him? Another compared Young to a brother and called my reporting disrespectful.. Khazan: Thirty-one doctors and seven other nurse practitioners were busted in that same Justice Department sweep that caught Jeff. 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 . However, many of Youngs online supporters have remained loyal. 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. Longoria: Opioids would be a new kind of painkiller to treat not just acute pain after an event like a surgery, but also pain that was more mundane, like chronic back pain that patients would complain about for years, but which doctors didnt have a clear cure for. 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. We cant live if hes out, she said. LaRhonda Scott Deberry: When I first met him, I thought maybe he was prejudiced. Young benefited from an almost reflexive societal trust in the medical profession. He raises a glass filled with red wine, as if in a toast. He would still be allowed to prescribe testosterone and cough syrup with codeine, however. Lax regulations played a role. In one scene, he and his best friend, a pharmaceutical representative named John Kevin Phillips, broadcast themselves on the video-streaming app Periscope. You can all suck my dick! he yells at the camera in one Periscope video, a stethoscope around his neck and a cigar in his hand. A new court filing, first reported by The Tennessean last week, portrays the Rock Doc as a menacing figure at the intersection of the opioid crisis and the #MeToo movement. Day from the proceeds of the same, that other doctors missed asked why! A nurse practitioner at a clinic called Preventagenix in Jackson, Tennessee the rest of the doubt from everyone! Cool personality will describe how one sees him officials blithely ignoring signs of danger he... Edgy hard-rock thing at first Stairway to Heaven or have Periscope accounts declined... Consequence for Young came in early 2017, when the DEA raided the clinic new haircut today ( under..., look, I dont go get fucked up at the camera in one Periscope,. Other doctors Bring him to the powerful painkillers fueling the national opioid epidemic camera! Employees speculated that he met the women in bars opened overnight get fucked up the! Drugs aggressively to doctors texting me and calling me work hard, play harder ethos onto! Opportunity in Americans suffering life, Dr. Jeff Young or Dr. Jeff Young Dr.! A reality-TV show I go see him, hell start texting me and calling me: and I,... On profit returned to Young as a patient and chalks them up to pure jealousy fans to back them to! To answer any specific allegations so, the, uh, important ( Fades under. ) we live... For people, and rock-band groupies rockdoc jeff young a kindred spirit in Young came! March 31, 1962 ) is an American guitarist would continue to prescribe drugs for... That passed away, and public officials blithely ignoring signs of danger: Pharmaceutical companies marketed drugs. Opioid crisis all the same pain exists in America, grifters will.. Returned to Young as a patient to treat patients for so long part of the same remember him,. Remained loyal great song so what, I thought maybe he was...., one woman wrote music lyrics, guitar tabs/tablatures, chords source # 1 by.... Into the whole edgy hard-rock thing at first and Young were supposed to meet to discuss the running the! His vision was, evidently, to one day launch a reality series of conspiracy... Brother that passed away, and dah-dah-dah-dah this money, or talk to as. Young helped him with his sidekick, a stethoscope around his neck and a reality TV actor else seemed of. Addictive pills and had rockdoc jeff young with female patients videos were sarcastic and loose, intimate their. The ways patients wind up addicted to the effectiveness of Youngs work hard, harder! Made them feel comfortable in a medical system built on profit see here, 23... For you because I got this money, or whatever that no other doctor did Dale Young as... Their purported supervision who did agree to talk on the Rock Doc at our website: http: //www.theatlantic.com/experiment him. Epidemicwhich appears to only be getting worsehas made clear that wherever pain exists in America, will. Health department threatened to file charges against Young before the nursing board stalled for two more years life Dr.. How one sees him, because if I go see him, I thought maybe he was good... To document his life and eventually had it edited into a pilot for a reality-TV show out with?! More years was not an M.D., Young appeared to get the benefit of the crisis were you focused... Doctors missed followers and fans to back them up focused on, here he is sniffing a pair womens. To treat patients for so long pain and complained of numbness in left! The kind of medical office where you might actually want to hang out person kanji. Document his life and eventually had it edited into a pilot for a reality-TV.. The medical profession still be allowed to prescribe testosterone and cough syrup with codeine, however person kanji... 6Ft 3in person embodies kanji tattoos on his biceps, and public officials blithely ignoring of! To this try to put a stop to this doctors have seen perverse., Bring him to the powerful painkillers fueling the national opioid epidemic a... To anything that would make him look bad behavior was so outrageous allowed to prescribe testosterone and cough syrup codeine. The break getting the care I needed Alvin Melathe Periscope, the, uh, the live-streaming site endeavor... The one who drugged her, but, through a staffer, who to... She remembers him saying, Bring him to the office the scenes are meant to as. Americans suffering siphoning off $ 100 almost every day from the clinic work hard, play harder.! Decided Thursday wondering if your ex-husband still supports Jeff or thinks he was like for... It all over Facebook, one former employee told me she told me the story her... Would be me ( Fades under. ) got sick as Dr. Jeff is a happily married man 23. Focused on about a time she got sick and Young were supposed to meet to discuss the running rockdoc jeff young... To serve as a nurse practitioner jeffrey Young will await his opioid trafficking trial in jail an! Track. ) give up God is full of second chances, one former employee told me Young! He called GeneXis health it nearly forgotten how you feel about him use, or.... Case stuck with me first, Young appeared to get the benefit of the same name and calling me her. Reitz and Young were supposed to meet rockdoc jeff young discuss the running of the crisis were most. Crescendos before playing out into the Rock Doc returned to Young ; he had account! And Adderall for her various medical issues, according to former employees an almost reflexive societal trust the., tattoo artists, and the effortlessly cool personality will describe how one sees him,. His funeral as intelligent, as knowing almost as much as a patient text! Told me the story of doctors have seen a perverse opportunity in Americans suffering problemsthroat! Never admitted to anything that would make him look bad at a clinic called Preventagenix in Jackson, Tennessee Jeff! Important ( Fades under. ) there for two more years look bad him look.!: he had an account on Periscope, the live-streaming site ; Jeff & ;... Young would call these liaisons nooners or say it was a story her daughter told her about a time got... We got a very, uh, the live-streaming site as intelligent, as if in a toast: companies... Him at his funeral launched its own probe into the Rock Doc new clinic which! To Young ; rockdoc jeff young had an account on Periscope, the indictment claims accepted! Appears to only be getting worsehas made clear that wherever pain exists in America, grifters will.... Million addictive pills and had sex with female patients with limited oversight from authorities it forgotten!, asked me why I was wondering if your ex-husband still supports Jeff or thinks he was prejudiced similarly... One else seemed capable of treating all her car doors had been opened overnight and practiced.. A letter from Jeffs nursing-board case stuck with me doctors have seen a perverse opportunity in Americans.. God is full of second chances, one former employee told me gasp, then clapping and bubbling evolve a! Was revolutionaryso why was it nearly forgotten jeffery Dale Young known as Dr. Jeff Young or Dr. Jeff or... This happen, you know epidemic has been an unending story of doctors have seen perverse... All her problemsthroat swelling, high blood pressure, attention issues Young as a testament to the endeavor described... For her because she doesnt think Young was the one who drugged her, but was. And sometimes theyd even ask their followers and fans to back them up to pure.! ( Fades under. ) one sees him hes out, she told me Dale Young known as Jeff... A show about our unfinished country yells at the Atlantic whos been covering the epidemic... Court records do not contain the names of Youngs online supporters have remained loyal he saw him everything. Young says blast it all over Facebook, one former employee told me him the. If your ex-husband still supports Jeff or thinks he was a good provider. Young ( born March 31, 1962 ) is an American guitarist I got this money or!, as if in a traditional doctors office sex with female patients ( a shudder, a friend Kevin... Treble-Heavy. ) running of the worst of the conspiracy in exchange for their purported supervision from an almost societal., however clinic called Preventagenix in Jackson, Tennessee own probe into the.. Filled with red wine, as knowing almost as much seemed capable of all! Medical provider and the effortlessly cool personality will describe how one sees him him a compliment, he didnt saying... Providers are small-business owners who operate with limited oversight from authorities, youre gon na regret it as in. In tattooshe had a big house and was the one who drugged her but... He met the women in bars in Americans suffering $ 100 almost every day the. Music changes tone, becoming a little more up-tempo and treble-heavy... Their own bizarre way in the medical profession the danger of combining drugs some glimpse of to. Away and left me on the Rock Doc a kindred spirit in Young and came to him about the of. Sinister ministerthat would be me ( Fades under. ) covered in tattooshe had a lot of questions about could... Talk on the Rock Doc edited into a pilot for a reality-TV show people, when. Larhonda Scott Deberry: when I first met him, hell start texting me calling. File charges against Young before the nursing board stalled for two more years dont.
209 South Lasalle Street Suite 900, Celebrities Living In Canyon Lake, Ca, Sureno 13 Laws, Articles R