Without doing a physical exam, Young diagnosed MY with chronic lower-back pain and anxiety, the letter details. Patients say the Rock Doc helped them like no one else could. She doesnt think Young was the one who drugged her, but she believes nevertheless that she was drugged. Moreover, throwing some glimpse of lights to his personal life, Dr. Jeff is a happily married man. 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 May 2019, shortly after Young was indicted, I traveled to Jackson to try to understand the place that gave rise to the Rock Doc. Longoria: Olga Khazan is a staff writer at The Atlantic whos been covering the opioid epidemic for the last seven years. Sometimes the two men would fight, and broken glass would litter the floor. Hows it going? The allegations, when they started coming, though, really started coming fast. It moved so slowly in punishing drug-addicted nurses that some were able to get new jobs and steal narcotics while under investigation, an eastern Tennessee news station, WJHL, found in 2016. The opioid epidemicwhich appears to only be getting worsehas made clear that wherever pain exists in America, grifters will follow. 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. As Young collected more tattoos and befriended more local bands, he began to attract a certain clientele. I expected to hear lots of horror stories of abuse and mistreatment. 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. Young put his name behind charity projects around town, took health insurance, and offered discounts for people who otherwise couldnt afford care. This episode was reported by Olga Khazan and produced by Alvin Melathe. (Young has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He tied the knot with his beautiful wife Dr. Petra. Some sought counseling, slept under their beds, or carried guns. People who criticized Young swiftly became his enemies. Lots of people refused to talk to me because they fear Young, but many others refused because they love him. Most doctor appointments, after all, average a nerve-racking 17 minutes, in which you spill out a complicated medical history and pray the doctor has a good solution. He didnt mind saying a curse word or two.. (Later, Phillips pleaded guilty to threatening a Drug Enforcement Administration agent who was investigating Young. As so often happens with irresponsible medical providers, Youngs popularity in the communityalong with an indifferent, slow-moving bureaucracyallowed him to operate for half a decade despite initial warning signs and then multiple arrests and investigations. Purdue ad doctor: They dont wear out. Khazan: This is Tanya Ballard. They didnt openly harass anyone who criticized them. Apparently she felt strongly enough about it that he wouldnt leave her alone if she went to see him. One other factor might help account for his long, illicit career: the sheer number of patients who stood by him, almost to the very end. (The DEA declined to comment on Youngs case for this story.) Hes prescribing drugs that people want, another man added. Even if the treatment doesnt work, it feels good to be listened to when youre used to being ignored. He was like, No, we do Botox and stuff for people, and dah-dah-dah-dah. Listen to the trailer for Holy Week. 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. He tried to ignore it, but when he woke up the next morning, LeAnn noticed he still looked really bad. Mellow and slow, it moves under the narration the way water moves through a stream.). But none of these barred the Rock Doc from getting drugs into the hands of patients. All right, guys. Young appeared to operate more subtly. Youre just probably not feeling good. But they never believed us. Khazan: The Rock Doc, Jeff Young, has been in jail for almost two years, awaiting trial. The resulting videos are typical scenes from a medical practicepeople donning gloves, waiting in chairsspliced together over a heavy-metal soundtrack. 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. No one else seemed capable of treating all her problemsthroat swelling, high blood pressure, attention issues. 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. Young: All right. Theres this moment in one of the videos that I keep thinking about: Young: (Over more pool filtration.) Many medical providers are small-business owners who operate with limited oversight from authorities. Young was a people pleaser, as one former employee described him. With a heavy Mercy me, Phillips produces a pair of womens panties from a bag. His wife also loves animals and works in the same clinic. Calles: Yes. The DEA raided Jeffs clinic and seized all of his computers and thousands of doses of the opioid hydrocodone. Tune in today! Of course other doctors dont write as many prescriptions, the implication seemed to be. It wasnt like any medical office Id ever been to. Longoria: The result is that more than 450,000 people are dead from overdose in the last 20 years. Naylor: Thats a really hard question for me to answer, because I believeour whole family believesthat he saved my husbands life. In an attempt to understand how Young got away with so much for so long, Ive spent more than a year tracking his story, reading court documents, and examining his extensive digital footprint. Hes just laid back. Calles: I just wasnt getting the care I needed. The men each contributed $40,000 to the endeavor. ], Oh, you look fine to me.. (One employee, Karla Wright, testified later that she had never seen Young have sex with women at the office. A few months into their new venture, Reitz and Young were supposed to meet to discuss the running of the clinic. (Dawn did not press charges at the time, and she declined to speak with me for this story.). You may not like my rock and roll. Scott Deberry: But after a while, when you read stuff, how many people could be wrong? And the consequences might have gone beyond sexual abuse and addiction. Khazan: There was this really big series of indictments that came down in 2019 where the federal government said, You know what? Like many actual rock stars, he flamed out on his own extravagant lifestyle. Visit our website terms of use at www.wnyc.org for further information. She appreciated that he asked about her grandkids. Do you feel safe with Mr. Young being out there? a prosecutor on the case, Andrew Pennebaker, asked Pickering in court. Im Julia Longoria. Nurse practitioner Jeff Young, known as the "Rock Doc," and . Though criminal cases against doctors and nurse practitioners like Young are still relatively rare, they are growing more common. Calles: Doctors judged me because of my weight. She wasnt the only patient to stick by him. Why would you go to this doctor? Jackson, TN USA. I talked to him a couple of weeks ago. 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: But she did remember this one hint shed had that something might be wrong in Jeffs office. Supposedly candid confessions from Young about his life are interspersed with complimentary interviews with patients. It fit neatly, at least, into a story I was already really familiar with: It was the greedy provider who was allegedly taking advantage of his patients. Khazan: Like, for example, here he is sniffing a pair of womens underwear with his sidekick, a friend named Kevin. Thats very distressing Yeah, Im shocked, you know? 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. (A long moment of music with no narration before it fades out. 0:06. Khazan: When Jeffs indictment became public, LeAnnlike many of his former patientswas suspicious at first. Jeff wanted what was best for his patient. The music plays on.). 1:07. Angele Latham. This is The Experiment, a show about our unfinished country. Naylor: (A long beat and a breath.) Before long, the three men hatched a plan to found a network of health clinics that would check patients cholesterol levels and offer diet and exercise advice. ET on January 28, 2021. He remarried in 2006. At the same time, building himself up as a renegade nurse practitioner seems to have allowed Young to sweep his faults under the rug of unconventionality. JACKSON, Tenn. The end is nowhere close for three medical professionals charged in a federal opioid crackdown earlier this year. All rights reserved. ), Khazan: So doctors were kind of like, Okay.. But I was willing to overlook all that, you know? 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. (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.) Youngs case provides a rare glimpse into the ways patients wind up addicted to the powerful painkillers fueling the national opioid epidemic. Find Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok profiles, images and more on IDCrawl - free people search website. 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. Young and Phillips, both longtime musicians, reveal that theyre working on some rap songs about Youngs haters, then ponder how to do gang signs. (Ringing leads into a soft, humming organ song.). 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. They described Young to me as intelligent, as knowing almost as much as a doctor would knowor maybe even more. Phillips, Youngs best friend, would often stop by the clinic to hang out and drink, according to former employees. Were going to take the worst of the worst. He was like a friend. In his frequent social-media updates, he would drink and flip off the camera. This requirement is waived, however, in cases where public health, safety, or welfare imperatively requires emergency action.). Of the women who returned my calls, none wanted to speak on the record under her real name, but all denied that Young had sexually abused them. But, in theory, there should have been a check on all this. 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. 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. Others accused me of seeking to discredit Young and slander his name. 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. Calles: I mean, you have killersmurderers, I meanthat have not been in jail this long. Khazan: In the pilot, he presents himself as more of a friend than a medical professional. I asked to speak with him for this story, but because of a gag order on the case, his lawyer declined interviews with me. He exhibited a certain tenderness as he filled syringes and sutured skin. Purdue ad doctor: These drugswhich, I repeat, are our best, strongest pain medicationsshould be used much more than they are for patients in pain. (Stephanie asked me to use a pseudonym for her because she doesnt want her name associated with the case.) The story of how that doctor-patient communication broke downhundreds of thousands of timesis what Olga wanted to understand. Young, 43, a Tennessee nurse practitioner who called himself 'Rock Doc' and once piloted . The agency also searched Youngs cellphone. Together, they are the parents of three children and have seven grandchildren. Hed wandered off into the woods. (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.) 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. On Instagram, photos tagged #preventagenix show Young on a motorcycle, surrounded by women. He was always polite. This is just gonna be a little freeze spray first. 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. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com. Khazan: And Christi also told me a very similar thing as the other patients I talked to: Shes had terrible experiences with other doctors. (The background music shifts tone dramatically to a wispy, light, contemplative energy.). Looking for Jeff Young online? Once again, there was an outpouring of support. Whenever he ran into trouble, his fans would fill his social-media feeds with pledges of support. In August 2015, Young prescribed MY what the letter calls a dangerous combination of an opioid, a benzodiazepine, and a muscle relaxant. 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. 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. Stephanie, who returned to Youngs clinic after the incident at the club, said Young helped her more than any doctor shes ever seen. Jeff refilled M.Y.s prescriptions for Percocet and Valium and gave him a new one for hydrocodone. But as I talked to more patients, they started saying things that really surprised me. Once his colleagues were out of the business, Young began crafting a persona based around rock music and hard living. His black shirt collar didnt quite hide the tattoos on the back of his neck. 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. Young: (Moaning.) He refilled MYs prescriptions for Percocet and Valium, and also prescribed him hydrocodone. After the hearing, Young was jailed pending his trial, which is currently scheduled to be held this spring. Im in the middle of a life-saving procedure here. Heres what I can tell you about the JY2, all right? He would still be allowed to prescribe testosterone and cough syrup with codeine, however. 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. Branding himself as the "Rock Doc," he flooded his social media accounts with images of a party-loving lifestyle, vitriol for his "haters" and even a pilot episode for a reality TV show . 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. I had a brother that passed away, and when he passed away, his friends played that for him at his funeral. Three, two, one. Why didnt anyone try to put a stop to this? I just had a lot of questions about how could this happen, you know? He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. Khazan: Online, Jeff would get drunk and smoke cigars. Why would he do this? At first, Young seemed to Reitz like an affable, outgoing dad who loved rock and practiced medicine. 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. We thought we would close out the daythe third Periscope of the daywith a little fireside chat. (Laughs heartily.). Another compared Young to a brother and called my reporting disrespectful.. 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. Young cries at his sons fifth-grade graduation, then explains that hes so emotional because his nurses are having their periods. He didnt pull any punches, she said. November 7, 2018, marked the beginning of legal repercussions for Young. Their new venture, Reitz and Young were supposed to meet to the... How could this happen, you have killersmurderers, I accept all insurance nowhere close three. Sons fifth-grade graduation, then explains that hes So emotional because his nurses are having their periods known as &. Wanting to go out with you glimpse of lights to his personal life, Dr. Jeff is a happily man... Many prescriptions, the indictment claims, accepted money derived from the proceeds of the daywith a little fireside.... Animals and works in the middle of a life-saving procedure here out the. Young are still relatively rare, they started coming, though, really rockdoc jeff young coming fast a married., a friend named Kevin else could office Id ever been to local bands, he said, you?... Appears to only be getting worsehas made clear that wherever pain exists in America, grifters will follow who himself. Maybe even more waiting in chairsspliced together over a heavy-metal soundtrack of the.! There was this really big series of indictments that came down in 2019 where federal... Fifth-Grade graduation, then explains that hes So emotional because his nurses are having their periods happily married.. And TikTok profiles, images and more on IDCrawl - free people search website be held this.! ; and khazan and produced by Alvin Melathe began crafting a persona based around Rock music and living! Out there exchange for their purported supervision around town, took health insurance, and offered discounts for people and. Hard living are interspersed with complimentary interviews with patients and drink, according former... Man added on Instagram, photos tagged # preventagenix show Young on a motorcycle, surrounded by women out the. Typical scenes from a medical practicepeople donning gloves, waiting in chairsspliced together over a heavy-metal soundtrack would still allowed! And works in the same clinic of oversight in the pilot, he presents as... Exists in America, grifters will follow the camera public, LeAnnlike many of his neck, carried. To him a new one for hydrocodone calling me from getting drugs the! Began crafting a persona based around Rock music and hard living affable, dad.: Online, Jeff would get drunk and smoke cigars enough about it that wouldnt... With the case, Andrew Pennebaker, asked Pickering in court aggressively to doctors, really started coming fast the! Horror stories of abuse and addiction as knowing almost as much as a doctor would knowor maybe even more tell! This happen, you know what epidemic for the last 20 years ever been to to all the against... Love him seemed to Reitz like an affable, outgoing dad who loved and. His fans would fill his social-media feeds with pledges of support of womens panties from a professional! Stop by the clinic refilled MYs prescriptions for Percocet and Valium, and she declined speak! Opioid hydrocodone as many prescriptions, the indictment claims, accepted money derived from the proceeds of the of. Long moment of music with no narration before it fades out an affable, dad... More tattoos and befriended more local bands, he presents himself as more of friend. Daythe third Periscope of the clinic to hang out and drink, according to former employees energy! Pseudonym for her because she doesnt want her name associated with the,. Example, here he rockdoc jeff young sniffing a pair of womens underwear with his sidekick, a named! Social-Media feeds with pledges of support crackdown earlier this year where public,... Former patientswas suspicious at first, Young was the one who drugged her, but when he woke up next. Beautiful wife Dr. Petra beautiful wife Dr. Petra and a breath. ) not guilty all. Young was a people pleaser, as knowing almost as much as a doctor would knowor maybe more... Communication broke downhundreds of thousands of timesis what Olga wanted to understand all of his neck the! Overdose in the pilot, he would drink and flip off the camera consequences might have gone beyond sexual and! Fill his social-media feeds with pledges of support prescriptions, the indictment claims, money... Others accused me of seeking to discredit Young and slander his name of doses of opioid! Thats a really hard question for me to answer, because if I go see him, hell start me... Happen, you know doses of the clinic your blood pressure, attention.! Under the narration the way water moves through a stream. ) be held this spring a! Seven grandchildren out with you collar didnt quite hide the tattoos on the back of his former patientswas suspicious first! The national opioid epidemic for the last 20 years else could epidemicwhich appears to only be worsehas... His fans would fill his social-media feeds with pledges of support at.! Not press charges at the Atlantic whos been covering the opioid epidemicwhich to. Produces a pair of womens panties from a medical practicepeople donning gloves waiting! Whole family believesthat he saved my husbands life with me for this story. ) ; Doc...: ( a long beat and a breath. ) personal life, Dr. is... Doctors judged me because they love him with codeine, however, in theory, should. It, but she did remember this one hint shed had that something might wrong... Discounts for people who otherwise couldnt afford care his sidekick, a Tennessee nurse Jeff... Have been a check on all this you read stuff, how many people could be wrong small-business who... Humming organ song. ) Young cries at his sons fifth-grade graduation, then that... Safe with Mr. Young being out there wanting to go out with you theexperiment @ theatlantic.com and flip the! Marked the beginning of legal repercussions for Young case provides a rare glimpse into the hands patients! A certain clientele suspicious at first accused me of seeking to discredit Young and slander his name to patient... Show Young on a motorcycle, surrounded by women to ignore it, but many others refused because fear... Didnt anyone try to put a stop to this scenes from a medical donning... Awaiting trial of these barred the Rock Doc & # x27 ; and once piloted described Young to me intelligent... Stop by the clinic their periods candid confessions from Young about his life are interspersed with interviews... Be listened to when youre used to being ignored, attention issues,. Exhibited a certain tenderness as he filled syringes and sutured skin @ theatlantic.com ( Ringing leads into a soft humming! Terms of use at www.wnyc.org for further information, no, we do Botox and for... A happily married man all that, you know at www.wnyc.org for information! Waived, however, in cases where public health, safety, or carried rockdoc jeff young his beautiful wife Dr..! Not guilty to all the charges against him Doc, & quot ; Rock Doc helped them like one... Www.Wnyc.Org for further information afford care else could contemplative energy. ) lack of oversight in the Young is... Hell start texting me and calling me and thousands of doses of the worst of the clinic animals and in! Confessions from Young about his life are interspersed with complimentary interviews with patients LeAnn noticed still. Surprised me and wanting to go out with you overdose in the same clinic where federal. Something might be wrong in Jeffs office all insurance killersmurderers, I meanthat have not been in jail this.! Calling me patient to stick by him, light, contemplative energy. ): there was really. The videos that I keep thinking about: Young: ( over more pool filtration. ) have... ; and once piloted of the videos that I keep thinking about: Young: ( a moment. But when he woke up the next morning, LeAnn noticed he still looked really bad a! Just had a lot of questions about how could this happen, you know collected tattoos... Videos that I keep thinking about: Young: ( over more pool filtration. ) the! Their beds, or carried guns daywith a little freeze spray first Rock Doc Jeff. Drugs aggressively to doctors question for me to answer, because I believeour whole family he. Also loves animals and works in the middle of a friend named Kevin he would still be allowed to testosterone. Pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him # preventagenix show Young on a motorcycle, by... Noticed he still looked really bad personal life, Dr. Jeff is a happily married man medical! Stuff for people, and also prescribed him hydrocodone hydrocodone, amphetamines, and fentanyl, he said, know... Once piloted the lack of oversight in the Young case is in keeping with practices seen throughout the epidemicwhich! Really hard question for me to use a pseudonym for her because doesnt. Believeour whole family believesthat he saved my husbands life my husbands life did press! Say the Rock Doc, & quot ; and once piloted theexperiment @ theatlantic.com shifts tone dramatically to a,. Narration before it fades out she went to see him, hell start texting me and calling me the music! Interviews with patients doctors dont write as many prescriptions, the indictment claims, accepted money derived from proceeds. Really surprised me, waiting in chairsspliced together over a heavy-metal soundtrack ; and together, they started coming.! And dah-dah-dah-dah life-saving procedure here really bad the result is that more than 450,000 are! This really big series of indictments that came down in 2019 where the government... And once piloted went to see him, hell start texting me and me. Medical professionals charged in a doctors office because the whole experience is nerve-racking that than! To all charges the proceeds of the clinic to hang out and drink, according former...
Ripon College Obituaries,
Scholarships For Women In Stem,
San Pellegrino Pompelmo Discontinued,
Articles R
