His Rock Doc persona helped him connect with patients who might never have felt comfortable in a traditional doctors office. Tune in today! Jackson nurse practitioner Jeffrey Young will await his opioid trafficking trial in jail, an appeals court decided Thursday. Angele Latham. She would wake up to find that all her car doors had been opened overnight. Khazan: In the pilot, he presents himself as more of a friend than a medical professional. Even after this, she returned to Young as a patient. Naylor: And I remember him saying, Bring him to the office. Yall partying in the office? [Chuckles.] Khazan: There was this really big series of indictments that came down in 2019 where the federal government said, You know what? Not that half of the, you know powers that be are on some sort of whatever. Sometimes the two men would fight, and broken glass would litter the floor. 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.. Instead, Young began by kicking Reitz out of the business, Reitz told me. Khazan: I was wondering if your ex-husband still supports Jeff or thinks he was a good medical provider. An active and fun show following the life of FNP Jeff Young II at work and his life after work. a dangerous combination of an opioid, a benzodiazepine, and a muscle relaxant. 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. He tried to ignore it, but when he woke up the next morning, LeAnn noticed he still looked really bad. 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. Though criminal cases against doctors and nurse practitioners like Young are still relatively rare, they are growing more common. Khazan: In one sense, I understand some of Jeffs patients defensiveness toward him. Young: Whats up, my friend? Heres what I can tell you about the JY2, all right? Patel left soon after. MY died on August 25, 2015, from an apparent drug overdose. Young grabs them and takes a big whiff. Hes prescribing drugs that people want, another man added. JACKSON, Tenn. The end is nowhere close for three medical professionals charged in a federal opioid crackdown earlier this year. (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 now we see the result. The agency also searched Youngs cellphone. 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. They liked his plainspoken approach to medicine, a profession typically associated with jargon and elitism. Women were drawn to Young; he had a big house and was the first to buy everyones drink. (A snare hit plays, and the music changes tone again. American doctors went on to prescribe opioids at much higher rates than their counterparts in other countries. On my trip, I strolled by a glass case near the federal courthouse that held a large Bible opened to the Gospel of John. Every time. Nurse practitioners have played a key role in Tennessees opioid epidemic. You may not like my rock and roll. In the past five years, at least 40 medical providers nationwide have been accused of exchanging sex for addictive drugs. was found dead of an apparent overdose. Trust me, I got people, he says to the camera. Young is . I cant say for sure what the right course of treatment for LaRhonda was, and where opioids fit into that. Not that theyre not watching internet porn. This requirement is waived, however, in cases where public health, safety, or welfare imperatively requires emergency action.). He tied the knot with his beautiful wife Dr. Petra. 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. 13.6k members in the AutoNewspaper community. Furthermore, Dr. Young along with his wife and daughter Melody works at his clinic. You ready? But I was willing to overlook all that, you know? Hed also given her tips on how to eat better and how to lose weight. Youre just probably not feeling good. But they never believed us. The resulting addictions were blamed on reckless patients, rather than the fundamental chemistry of the opioids themselves. Moreover, throwing some glimpse of lights to his personal life, Dr. Jeff is a happily married man. Theres this moment in one of the videos that I keep thinking about: Young: (Over more pool filtration.) It doesnt sound like much of a sella middle-aged man doling out medical advice in a city midway between Memphis and Nashville. An active and fun show following the life of FNP Jeff Young II at work and his life after work. 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. 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. Khazan: The one that caught my eye was this guy named Jeff Young, a nurse practitioner who called himself the Rock Doc, quote-unquote. Hed wandered off into the woods. Young: (Moaning.) Occasionally he would glare at his ex-wife Dawn, who was in the gallery. This striking 6ft 3in person embodies kanji tattoos on his biceps, and the effortlessly cool personality will describe how one sees him. Being around Young made her feel emotionally safe, she said. Most of these doctors werent like Jeff. (The two clap each others backs in a half-hug.). Julia Longoria: Over 20 years ago, pharmaceutical companies began to market the use of a magical pill. Like, all these doctors who are really out of line and just writing so many scripts for so many addictive drugs, theyre really not being careful at all. 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. 40 members in the TDBauto community. Khazan: Online, Jeff would get drunk and smoke cigars. Patients would spend an hour or two in the waiting room, only to get a rushed exam and prescription. Khazan: Like, for example, here he is sniffing a pair of womens underwear with his sidekick, a friend named Kevin. I dont I dont even know what to say. On April 17, 2019, officials swept through Appalachia, charging 53 medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. 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. But you know what? The DEA raided Jeffs clinic and seized all of his computers and thousands of doses of the opioid hydrocodone. In 2018, a woman told police that Young put his hands down her pants during an office visit, but that apparently led to nothing. A former employee said that staffers had to go to Youngs houseanother McMansionto drag him out of bed, and that he would occasionally arrive at the clinic drunk. Never give up God is full of second chances, one woman wrote. The feds say Young . Khazan: LaRhonda didnt know anything about all of thisthe nursing board didnt make their investigation publicbut she was following him on social media. Thank you for listening. 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. Without doing a physical exam, Young diagnosed MY with chronic lower-back pain and anxiety, the letter details. Longoria: There are many pieces to the puzzle of how opioids found their way into so many medicine cabinets. Like many actual rock stars, he flamed out on his own extravagant lifestyle. Dr. Jeff is married to Petra Mickova Petra though she is his second wife. Federal prosecutors say his help often amounted to dealing drugs for sex. 0:06. How far can medical providers go in giving patients what they want? Young and Phillips, both longtime musicians, reveal that theyre working on some rap songs about Youngs haters, then ponder how to do gang signs. I dont like him asking out my daughter But even then, I still went to him, and my ex-husband still went to him. There were reports of after-hours partiespossibly of Jeff having sex with his patients. Nurse practitioner Jeff Young, known as the "Rock Doc," and . At Youngs practice, the quantities of opioids were larger than many investigations that I conducted, Shirley Pickering, a nursing-board investigator, later said in court. You could see, almost, when you were talking to him, he was listeningand he was thumping that pen to the beat of the music. (The music opens up into a technologic rainforest as synthesizers mimic birdsong.). I mean, you could just kind of tell you could trust him. The first move of any significant consequence for Young came in early 2017, when the DEA raided the clinic. A woman Ill call Stephanie developed a friendship with Young a few years ago when she was regularly seeing him for swelling in her throat. #coffeeplease #noontime #rockrageradio www.rockrageradio.com Multiple surveys show that people tend to trust health-care workers more than they trust many other professionals, including police officers and clergy members. 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. Three, two, one. 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. Khazan: Tanya had a different theory about where all the criticism was actually coming from. Khazan: Because I couldnt talk to Jeff, Ive spent more hours than I want to admit combing through his Periscope videos, trying to understand this man. The story of how that doctor-patient communication broke downhundreds of thousands of timesis what Olga wanted to understand. Our team also includes Gabrielle Berbey, Emily Botein, Matt Collette, Tracie Hunte, and me, Natalia Ramirez. Young had also allegedly begun siphoning off $100 almost every day from the clinic for his personal expenses, according to former employees. Though he was not an M.D., Young christened himself the Rock Doc.. Scott Deberry: I just didnt like all the bickering on social media and in that newspaper. Thats very distressing Yeah, Im shocked, you know? I cant wait to start being your patient again, one woman wrote. His lawyer also declined to answer any specific allegations. One of them was that I had the story all wrong. Khazan: The first time I watched this video, I just heard Jeff making excuses. Calles: You could just tell by the demeanor that that was there. And the consequences might have gone beyond sexual abuse and addiction. We put out calls and emails to dozens of Jeff Youngs patients. Purdue ad doctor: They dont wear out. About four years after its investigation began, the nursing board finally held a hearing to consider his fate. Young benefited from an almost reflexive societal trust in the medical profession. Khazan: Christi Calles was the patient who loved listening to Stairway to Heaven.. It was just rocked out. Over that time, his online following grew. Youngs story raises the question of where care crosses into harm. (The case did not result in a conviction.) Young: Very nice. November 7, 2018, marked the beginning of legal repercussions for Young. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com. Music by Tasty Morsels and Nelson Nance. (Plucky yet funky music plays. 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. every time. The sharpteeth charge through and run into the rock spire and fall down. The clinic sat on a quiet road crammed with other medical practicesa sleep doctor, a dentist, a nephrologist, an orthodontisteach in its own . After PreventaGenix shut down, Young told his patients on Facebook that they could contact Reitz and Patels attorney to get their medical records. An obese man explains that Young helped him with his swollen leg. Naylor: (A long beat and a breath.) 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. Dan Reaves, a local radio host on whose show Young occasionally appeared as part of a marketing plan, described Young as medically gifted. It surprised her, but Jeff was attuned to all that. In 2014, Jeff started seeing a patient with the initials M.Y. In November 2016, the health department threatened to file charges against Young before the board of nursing. Hey! 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: A lot of them, unfortunately, went with it. She told me that Jeff took her pain seriously. 1:32. Were small enough where we still talk, Jerry Gist, who was the mayor at the time, told me. Downtown has an old-fashioned square, a few coffee shops striving for trendiness, and some suburban standbysMcAlisters Deli, Kohls, Chilis, Panera Breadall connected by well-maintained roads and featuring black oceans of parking lots. Stephanie, who returned to Youngs clinic after the incident at the club, said Young helped her more than any doctor shes ever seen. Editing by Katherine Wells, Julia Longoria, and Denise Wills. Everybody pay fucking attention worldwide because Im about to save this motherfuckers lifelive on Periscope broadcast! ), (What sounds like road noise plays in the background of a Periscope clip. Music by Parish Council (Dabbles), water feature (ariel), Arabian Prince in a UK World (The Feeling of Being on a Diet), Keyboard (Being There and My Atelier), and Column (The Art of Fun (Raj) and Sensuela), provided by Tasty Morsels. Many told me that they didnt want to talk on the record. Khazan: I talked to many of Jeffs patients. Jeff gets his nick name "Rock Doc" from his loyal patients. No one could quite tell me who or what was responsible for Youngs transformation. The patients of the nurse practitioner and aspiring reality star Jeffrey Young say he helped them like nobody else could. (Young has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Hes so cute thats my brother and my best friend, Young says, giving Phillips a gentle kiss. It feels claustrophobic.). Young was indicted on drug-trafficking charges in April 2019. Theyre standoffish towards you. 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. Khazan: LeAnn Naylor was the secretary for the mayor of Jackson when she started seeing Jeff as a patient. But the allegations against him point toward what can be permissible, even celebrated, in a medical system built on profit. (The DEA declined to comment on Youngs case for this story.) In recent years, the Justice Department has started coming for unscrupulous doctors and pharmacists, too. You know that. Youngs case provides a rare glimpse into the ways patients wind up addicted to the powerful painkillers fueling the national opioid epidemic. Young would call these liaisons nooners or say it was tap-that-ass Tuesday, according to court testimony. 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