Fact-check by Michelle Ciarrocca and Jack Segelstein. Were taking next week off to work on new stories, but well be back with new episodes starting April 15. 0:04. The first move of any significant consequence for Young came in early 2017, when the DEA raided the clinic. Khazan: And some of what she saw really weirded her out. The music plays on.). Olga Khazan: At the time, there wasnt a lot of limits on pharmaceutical companies being able to tell doctors that. You may not like my rock and roll. This is just gonna be a little freeze spray first. Another compared Young to a brother and called my reporting disrespectful.. 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. I accept all insurance, he told her. Hed wandered off into the woods. Though the system came slowly for Young, during the years he was being investigated America underwent a national reckoning about opioids. Khazan: The way I first got to know Jeff Young was through videos he posted online. (The drugmaker that is most often blamed for the epidemic doesnt agree with this assessment: Suggesting that activities that last occurred more than 16 years ago are responsible for todays complex and multifaceted opioid crisis is deeply flawed, a Purdue Pharma spokesperson, Robert Josephson, said in a statement to The New York Times for a story on this issue.). And most doctors youve seen, they give off this persona as like, Im too cool. Sometimes patients seeking opioids go to different providers until they find one who is willing to prescribe to them. He would sometimes brag about having sex on his lunch break, sharing with his staff pictures of his conquests, three employees said. [Chuckles.] Fact-check by Michelle Ciarrocca and Jack Segelstein. The grosser side. 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. Not all of them were into the whole edgy hard-rock thing at first. Young: Listen, I am for the patient. (Later, Phillips pleaded guilty to threatening a Drug Enforcement Administration agent who was investigating Young. Updated at 10:28 p.m. Naylor: (A sharp inhale.) Young: Hi, my name is Jeff Young. 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. One January morning, officers swarmed the road outside the PreventaGenix building, guns drawn. She texted Jeff. It was just rocked out. They do not have serious medical side effects. His Rock Doc persona helped him connect with patients who might never have felt comfortable in a traditional doctors office. Sometimes he wore scrubs, but most of the time he had on jeans, scrub tops, and a rock T-shirt, and a doctors jacket. Calles: I just wasnt getting the care I needed. LeAnn Naylor: I have not had a lot of positive interactions with doctors. Christi Calles: His doctors office was just rocked out. Young was by no means nationally or even regionally known. I am a, uh, nurse practitioner. Many medical providers are small-business owners who operate with limited oversight from authorities. 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 . Nurses are consistently rated higher in honesty and ethics than all other professions that Gallup asks about, by a wide margin, the polling firm said in a January 2020 survey. On Instagram, photos tagged #preventagenix show Young on a motorcycle, surrounded by women. 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. And the consequences might have gone beyond sexual abuse and addiction. Right? Khazan: So, like, that doctor-patient interaction and how the opioids actually got prescribed. (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: I dont know. Otherwise, fledgling practices, in particular, risk losing patients. Stephanie had been in an abusive relationship and dealt with a slew of other traumas. 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 . Khazan: And he posted dozens of videos there. Whatever the inspiration, his new persona was good for business. (The synthesizer takes over the harmony, traipsing up and down the melody line before it quiets and the episode ends.). Khazan: He worked in the timber industry, and one day at work, he got overheated and disoriented. Federal prosecutors who charged him in a massive opioid bust say he overprescribed painkillers, often for money, notoriety, and sexual favors.. To a different patient, he wrote, Come fuck me at my office right now., It is not illegal for doctors to have sex with their patients, though its considered unethical. Hes just one of the guys that you could drink a beer with, or you can go let him give you a shot in the ass (Fades under.). 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.) Wear a short skirt and no panties.. The next year, Jeff prescribed M.Y. In 2013, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic disorder that is usually accompanied by widespread pain and fatigue. The week that followed Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination was revolutionaryso why was it nearly forgotten? They painted a picture of the kind of medical office where you might actually want to hang out. Jackson nurse practitioner Jeffrey Young will await his opioid trafficking trial in jail, an appeals court decided Thursday. Kevin: (In a Periscope video.) Jeffery Dale Young known as Dr. Jeff Young or Dr. Jeff is American Veterinarian and a reality TV actor. After the raid, Young spent the night in jail on an outstanding warrant, and PreventaGenix closed soon after. (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. (Fades under.). Khazan: LaRhonda Scott Deberry is a 54-year-old former teacher who lives in Memphis. There were reports of after-hours partiespossibly of Jeff having sex with his patients. Longoria: Pharmaceutical companies marketed these drugs aggressively to doctors. Naylor: I felt like he was being treated unfairlythat maybe he had even been set up. Khazan: The videos were sarcastic and loose, intimate in their own bizarre way. (The music crescendos before playing out into the break. The Daily Beast Automated News Feed No Censorship, Just News. Youngs story raises the question of where care crosses into harm. 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.). 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. He blasted heavy metal at his private practice and filled his Instagram feed with photos of himself smoking cigars. Young began arriving at the clinic smelling rancid, with greasy hair, and the clinics money problems mounted. Young, 43, a Tennessee nurse practitioner who called himself 'Rock Doc' and once piloted . His case before the nursing board stalled for two more years. [Khazan laughs.] Know his wife, age, net worth, family, 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. In fact, he avoided doctors at all costs. 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. Calles: I really am so thankful that he suggested that to me, because if he hadnt have, I probably wouldve never done it, because I wouldnt take anybody else seriously enough to even think about doing it. Like many actual rock stars, he flamed out on his own extravagant lifestyle. 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. Young appeared to operate more subtly. Scott Deberry: Everyone in his office was all white. The DEA raided Jeffs clinic and seized all of his computers and thousands of doses of the opioid hydrocodone. But that did not put a stop to Youngs ambitions. It feels claustrophobic.). On April 17, 2019, officials swept through Appalachia, charging 53 medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. Jackson, Tennessee. Editing by Katherine Wells, Julia Longoria, and Denise Wills. had lower back pain and complained of numbness in his left arm. In November 2016, the health department threatened to file charges against Young before the board of nursing. She said, He latches on to young single mothers, and he rushes in and wants toquote-unquotesave them.. Young was, in short, a medical provider who acted like everyones best friend. Khazan: Part of making her feel better was prescribing her opioids. Even now, I cant say that. Khazan: Even LaRhonda, the retired teacher who had soured on Jeff, told me that Jeff was the rare provider who would take her pain seriously. She was referred to Jeff by one of her friends. (Lo-fi synthesizer music plays up. By the end of this hearing, you will be asking what on Earth took the medical board so long, Pennebaker, the prosecutor, said in court. They described Young to me as intelligent, as knowing almost as much as a doctor would knowor maybe even more. #saturdays at noon est to hear #nikkidarling chat with the #RockDoc Jeff Young II #musicmeetmedicine Starts at 12pm est. But maybe, just maybe, he showed too much. But she also told me the story of her ex-husband. Similarly, Young appeared to get the benefit of the doubt from virtually everyone. MY came to PreventaGenix complaining of lower-back pain and numbness in his left arm, and asked for refills of pain medications. The Experiment is a co-production of The Atlantic and WNYC Studios. In recent years, the Justice Department has started coming for unscrupulous doctors and pharmacists, too. He didnt mind saying a curse word or two.. Hey, are you paying attention? I have found accounts of at least 40 other medical providers in the country who have been accused of exchanging sex for addictive drugs. He soon opened a new clinic, which he called GeneXis Health. Throughout the opioid epidemic, a distressing number of doctors have seen a perverse opportunity in Americans suffering. This is The Experiment, a show about our unfinished country. He exhibited a certain tenderness as he filled syringes and sutured skin. Khazan: Thirty-one doctors and seven other nurse practitioners were busted in that same Justice Department sweep that caught Jeff. Jeff didnt monitor M.Y.s use, or talk to him about the danger of combining drugs. Khazan: Online, Jeff would get drunk and smoke cigars. She told me that Jeff took her pain seriously. The patients of the nurse practitioner and aspiring reality star Jeffrey Young say he helped them like nobody else could. Others accused me of seeking to discredit Young and slander his name. Off camera, Young allegedly prescribed 1.4 million addictive pills and had sex with female patients. We cant live if hes out, she said. Youngs second marriage was already in trouble by the time PreventaGenix launched, and after his divorce he quickly found new girlfriends. The nurse practitioner Jeffrey Young produced a reality-TV pilot in which he branded himself "the Rock Doc., The week that followed Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination was revolutionaryso why was it nearly forgotten? 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.. Khazan: And sometimes theyd even ask their followers and fans to back them up. An active and fun show following the life of FNP Jeff Young II at work and his life after work. Once again, there was an outpouring of support. Young did seem to be famous enough in Jackson, however, to reinforce his own grand vision of himself. In his early adulthood, he was a straitlaced young Republican who had short hair and wore a tie much of the time, one of his former co-workers told me. Purdue ad doctor: These drugswhich, I repeat, are our best, strongest pain medicationsshould be used much more than they are for patients in pain. Jeffrey Young was one of those people. The allegations against Young seemed to take a toll on him, though. (Green, who has since cut ties with Young, would not comment on this when I reached him, but he told the Sun that he asked another officer to look up the information.). 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. Why would he do this? Jeff immediately sees that he is inyou know, hes in pretty bad shape. (The music opens up into a technologic rainforest as synthesizers mimic birdsong.). Young wanted information about one of his enemies. Meanwhile, LeAnn Naylor, the secretary of Jacksons former mayor, first told me over email that she stood by Young after his hearing, but then recently said shed started having doubts because Young would frequently hit on her adult daughter. Have you ever been to a doctor and you just didnt feel comfortable? I visited Youngs clinic, but, through a staffer, he declined to speak with me. Im Julia Longoria. His case offers a unique look at the opioid crisis. 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 didnt pull any punches, she said. 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. According to a medical-board report, one employee recalled Young having sex in his office with a patient who appeared to be drugged; when Young left, she was passed out on the couch. Despite the accumulation of evidence suggesting that Young was running his practice recklessly and endangering patients, he remained licensed to write prescriptions for five years after PreventaGenix opened its doors. 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. The resulting addictions were blamed on reckless patients, rather than the fundamental chemistry of the opioids themselves. Thats the only way you can describe it. Young: So Im gonna not have a cigar. Naylor: (A long beat and a breath.) He was like, No, we do Botox and stuff for people, and dah-dah-dah-dah. Young: Very nice. 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. Thirty minutes. And I remember texting him back, and I remember saying, Jeff, he is a grumpy, old, country man, and hes not going to be an easy patient, but something is terribly wrong. And he said, I got that covered too. So I get my husband up there. (A shudder, a gasp, then clapping and bubbling evolve into a background track.). In August 2015, Young prescribed MY what the letter calls a dangerous combination of an opioid, a benzodiazepine, and a muscle relaxant. But it played [Emphasizing.] Its a shame, he told me, that Young got into so much legal trouble; think of all the people he might have helped. Young had also allegedly begun siphoning off $100 almost every day from the clinic for his personal expenses, according to former employees. Women were drawn to Young; he had a big house and was the first to buy everyones drink. According to police reports and court records, his second ex-wife, Dawn, claimed that throughout their relationship Young repeatedly pushed, threatened, and attempted to rape her. You may not like my sexy-ass beard. 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. To deal with the latter, the city, like so many others in America, has become ever more reliant on opioids. Purdue Pharma ad voice-over: Once youve found the right doctor and have told him or her about your pain, dont be afraid to take what they give you. ), Jeff Young: Are we live? Watching this makes me really sad, one YouTube user commented on the Rock Doc pilot in 2019. The story of how that doctor-patient communication broke downhundreds of thousands of timesis what Olga wanted to understand. 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. He found diseases, for example, that other doctors missed. So, uh, here we are, sitting by the pool. Reitz says he and his girlfriend came up with the unwieldy namea futuristic combination of prevent and genetics. There was no statement even made to the Feds. But you know what? ], Oh, you look fine to me.. In the past five years, at least 40 medical providers nationwide have been accused of exchanging sex for addictive drugs. Yeah. During one club night, Young bought Stephanie two drinks and his friends handed them to her. Young benefited from an almost reflexive societal trust in the medical profession. She would get phone calls at her house, answer, and hear only strange whispers, she said in a court hearing. Khazan: Like, for example, here he is sniffing a pair of womens underwear with his sidekick, a friend named Kevin. Khazan: The Rock Doc, Jeff Young, has been in jail for almost two years, awaiting trial. Not that half of the, you know powers that be are on some sort of whatever. 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. I told him about this podcastexplained to him what a podcast was. (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.) Naylor: Thats a really hard question for me to answer, because I believeour whole family believesthat he saved my husbands life. Theres this moment in one of the videos that I keep thinking about: Young: (Over more pool filtration.) 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