If PreventaGenix staffers suspected that a patient was abusing drugs, they would sometimes try to fire the patient, by telling him or her not to return to the clinic. Young: Listen, I am for the patient. There were reports of after-hours partiespossibly of Jeff having sex with his patients. 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. An obese man explains that Young helped him with his swollen leg. Many of the people I interviewedincluding some of Youngs former patients and employeesasked to remain anonymous, often because they feared retribution at the hands of Young and his friends. They described Young to me as intelligent, as knowing almost as much as a doctor would knowor maybe even more. He didnt pull any punches, she said. 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. Hes just laid back. Reitz says he and his girlfriend came up with the unwieldy namea futuristic combination of prevent and genetics. The men each contributed $40,000 to the endeavor. Young would call these liaisons nooners or say it was tap-that-ass Tuesday, according to court testimony. The agents seized about 350 of Youngs patient charts and every computer in the office, according to Gutgsell, the former office manager, and the notice of seizure states that about 10,000 individual doses of hydrocodone were also taken. Hes a great doctor and never has he acted any way towards me but professional! one woman wrote. And Im like, Oh. [A beat.] Khazan: In his Periscope videos, Jeff insisted it was all fun and games, and people were just criticizing him because of his style. The men each contributed $40,000 to the endeavor. Supposedly candid confessions from Young about his life are interspersed with complimentary interviews with patients. Jeffrey Young wanted to give you a real look inside his clinic. One story I found in a letter from Jeffs nursing-board case stuck with me. 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. Throughout Youngs year-long treatment of MY, Young failed to conduct pill counts, consult a state database meant to monitor the dispensing of controlled substances, and discuss with MY the risks of combining these drugs, according to the document. But you know what? Many people in Jackson seemed to see themselves in Young. Khazan: LaRhonda Scott Deberry is a 54-year-old former teacher who lives in Memphis. The scenes are meant to serve as a testament to the effectiveness of Youngs work hard, play harder ethos. Young would continue to prescribe drugs there for two more years. Use the hashtag #TheExperimentPodcast, or write to us at theexperiment@theatlantic.com. 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. The resulting addictions were blamed on reckless patients, rather than the fundamental chemistry of the opioids themselves. It was a story her daughter told her about a time she got sick. One person with knowledge of the case gave me a list of several women who, the person believed, were having sex with Young in exchange for drugs. Thats not my fucking problem, all right? (The music crescendos before playing out into the break. Khazan: Do you feel like Jeff has done more harm than good? A year later, the Tennessee nursing board suspended his ability to prescribe most opioids and other controlled substances for two years, saying that he had prescribed them irresponsibly. Occupation (s) Guitarist. Khazan: Do you remember what kind of music was playing? (A moment of narrative silence. Julia Longoria: Over 20 years ago, pharmaceutical companies began to market the use of a magical pill. Were going to take the worst of the worst. 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. In November 2016, the health department threatened to file charges against Young before the board of nursing. Always have been for the patient. Thank you for taking care of me, not just the sex and satisfaction but the Soma too, wrote one patient, referring to a muscle relaxer. How was a nurse practitioner whose behavior was so outrageous allowed to treat patients for so long? 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. I have found accounts of at least 40 other medical providers in the country who have been accused of exchanging sex for addictive drugs. As the cameraman who filmed the pilot told me, Everywhere he went, it was like the Beatles., But the way in which Young gained some of these fans has become the focus of a federal court case. In one scene, he and his best friend, a pharmaceutical representative named John Kevin Phillips, broadcast themselves on the video-streaming app Periscope. After the raid, Young spent the night in jail on an outstanding warrant, and PreventaGenix closed soon after. His followers across social-media accounts numbered in the low thousandshigher than a casual users, but a trifle compared with even a C-list celebritys fan base. He wasnt in pain. [Khazan laughs, then Calles emphasizes each word that follows.] Were taking next week off to work on new stories, but well be back with new episodes starting April 15. Multiple surveys show that people tend to trust health-care workers more than they trust many other professionals, including police officers and clergy members. Then it rewinds into nothingness.). They do not have serious medical side effects. Young: (Over the sound of a pool-filtration system.) Throughout the opioid epidemic, a distressing number of doctors have seen a perverse opportunity in Americans suffering. I mean, you wouldve thought they were giving away meds for free, to be honest. Well all be killed., It helped that Young had prominent friends he could call on for help. 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. 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.). No one could quite tell me who or what was responsible for Youngs transformation. I talked to him a couple of weeks ago. Minutes after finishing the second drink, Stephanie fell face-first onto the floor. I expected to hear lots of horror stories of abuse and mistreatment. When I visited the clinic shortly before the hearing, Young had just finished up with a patient. I accept all insurance, he told her. Years active. And hed stream from inside the clinic sometimes. 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. Will be glad to take the balance out of your ass. To another, Jeff asked, You want to come by for a checkup tomorrow? People who criticized Young swiftly became his enemies. You can all suck my d***. Rudins lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. Its heavy, and it loops. To get from pharma lab to medicine cabinet, the drug needed to pass through one of the most sacred spaces in America. ], Oh, you look fine to me.. Khazan: Online, Jeff would get drunk and smoke cigars. PreventaGenix, with its Doric columns and grand portico, appeared to preside over the rest. The grosser side. I dont. Hed also given her tips on how to eat better and how to lose weight. (Court records do not contain the names of Youngs alleged victims.) His case before the nursing board stalled for two more years. I need you to find this fucker, he wrote, according to court testimony later reported by The Jackson Sun. A Professional theme for architects, construction and interior designers On my trip, I strolled by a glass case near the federal courthouse that held a large Bible opened to the Gospel of John. The clinic sat on a quiet road crammed with other medical practicesa sleep doctor, a dentist, a nephrologist, an orthodontisteach in its own . The manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids have been sued by dozens of states and municipalities for the damage theyve allegedly caused. Thank you for listening. It feels claustrophobic.). Young appeared to operate more subtly. Never give up God is full of second chances, one woman wrote. Khazan: In one sense, I understand some of Jeffs patients defensiveness toward him. For the occasion of his detention hearing, Young wore a cerulean suit and a comb-over. 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. Youngs story raises the question of where care crosses into harm. Khazan: So Ive written a million stories about this. But he, uh He was true to himself; lets say that. Khazan: In 2017, the very public world Jeff had built around himself started attracting a different kind of attention. Rumors started to spread in town that strange things were going on in Jeffs office. Khazan: LaRhonda was skepticalbut she was also dealing with a lot of pain. Khazan: LaRhonda didnt know anything about all of thisthe nursing board didnt make their investigation publicbut she was following him on social media. But that did not put a stop to Youngs ambitions. 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. Jackson, Tennessee. But they helped create the opioid crisis all the same. You ready? He soon opened a new clinic, which he called GeneXis Health. But the board has a history of letting suspicious providers go on practicing for years. In 2013, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic disorder that is usually accompanied by widespread pain and fatigue. Listen to the trailer for, The Hard-Partying, Rock-Obsessed Nurse at the Center of a Massive Opioid Bust. 2,760 Followers, 1,655 Following, 2,046 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Jeff Young II (JY2) #RockDoc (@jeffyoungii) Tennessees nursing board, the main agency that has power over nurse practitioners in the state, launched its investigation into Young within a year of PreventaGenix opening. The week that followed Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination was revolutionaryso why was it nearly forgotten? For the cosmetically minded, he hosted alcohol-fueled Botox parties. On April 17, 2019, officials swept through Appalachia, charging 53 medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. (A long moment of music with no narration before it fades out. Young benefited from an almost reflexive societal trust in the medical profession. Its light and upbeat.). 0:04. So it just kind of, I guess, comforted me. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, and is currently in jail awaiting trial. Young seemed eager to hire lots of staff, but would end up firing them later. 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. He blasted heavy metal at his private practice and filled his Instagram feed with photos of himself smoking cigars. I am sick of people only judging you by what you do in your personal life, one woman wrote on his Facebook page in September 2016, when Young was charged with assault after a woman claimed that he had screamed at her in the parking lot of his office. Angele Latham. Khazan: This is Tanya Ballard. As the nursing boards investigation of Young inched along, another agency launched its own probe into the Rock Doc. 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: Her husband had severe dehydration and was suffering from a heat stroke. He pleaded not guilty to the . Ballard: Most doctors dont wanna touch you, and they only wanna address one issue at a time. I had a lot of Why on earth? questions, the Atlantic reporter Olga Khazan says. Not that theyre not watching internet porn. 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. And most doctors youve seen, they give off this persona as like, Im too cool. Young: (Serious, and a little angry.) Khazan: The way I first got to know Jeff Young was through videos he posted online. As the court spent two days scrutinizing his years of alleged misdeeds, he sat mostly silently. You may not like me. (Laughs heartily.). If a patient would text him a compliment, he would blast it all over Facebook, one former employee told me. Even after this, she returned to Young as a patient. His black shirt collar didnt quite hide the tattoos on the back of his neck. 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. Khazan: When I first started talking to Jeffs former patients, I thought I understood this story. Nurse practitioner Jeff Young, known as the "Rock Doc," and . 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