Patel left soon after. ), (The intro to a rock song plays, with a driving, pulsing beat. The lack of oversight in the Young case is in keeping with practices seen throughout the opioid crisis. I swear he didnt look at my leg for 30 seconds, and he told me exactly what it was, he says. Heres what I can tell you. 0:04. 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. (Ringing leads into a soft, humming organ song.). When PreventaGenix closed, Young was alleged to have failed to pay part of the unemployment insurance, federal tax withholdings, and final payroll for the clinic, according to a lawsuit filed by his former partners, Reitz and Patel. When I visited the clinic shortly before the hearing, Young had just finished up with a patient. The scenes are meant to serve as a testament to the effectiveness of Youngs work hard, play harder ethos. I asked to speak with him for this story, but because of a gag order on the case, his lawyer declined interviews with me. Khazan: Jeff and his friend Kevin would often head to Periscope to defend themselves. But tonally, much of the footage betrays him. But that did not put a stop to Youngs ambitions. Some sought counseling, slept under their beds, or carried guns. (They relied on messages obtained by agents during the investigations into Young.) A restaurant called the Little Rebel displayed a Confederate flag. Doctors, in theory, would only prescribe to people who needed the drugs and would monitor patients so they wouldnt get addicted. He made them feel comfortable in a way that no other doctor did. Christi Calles lived 30 miles away in Lexington. He was the casual party guy, not the stuffy doctor. 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. Case 18-11780-BLS Doc 45 Filed 08/02/18 Page 1 of 1041. Khazan: Looking at all the allegations, I mean, its overprescribingoverprescribing to someone whose pill bottles had his name on them and who died of a drug overdose. Federal prosecutors who charged him in a massive opioid bust say he overprescribed painkillers, often for "money, notoriety, and sexual favors." Young's case provides a rare gl Calles: I dont know. Christi Calles: His doctors office was just rocked out. Khazan: Ive talked to a lot of patients over the years who feel very uncomfortable around their doctors. So it was kind of significant to me. Young: (Just after another person laughs.) Jeffrey Young was one of those people. Calles: And I mean, he didnt dress like your average doctor. (Lo-fi synthesizer music plays up. 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 . But when he suggested it the way he did, I took it seriously. Jeffery Dale Young known as Dr. Jeff Young or Dr. Jeff is American Veterinarian and a reality TV actor. Looking for Jeff Young online? 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. This ingratiating tendency allegedly extended to handing out prescriptions. He tried to ignore it, but when he woke up the next morning, LeAnn noticed he still looked really bad. (A snare hit plays, and the music changes tone again. Naylor: And I remember him saying, Bring him to the office. Never give up God is full of second chances, one woman wrote. (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.). How was a nurse practitioner whose behavior was so outrageous allowed to treat patients for so long? The next morning, the office manager, Kristie Gutgsell, would clean up after them. 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. And Jeff, sitting at the center of it, covered in tattooshe had a sort of unlikely charisma too. Khazan: Or stitch someone up after they cut themselves on a wine glass. This striking 6ft 3in person embodies kanji tattoos on his biceps, and the effortlessly cool personality will describe how one sees him. Young: Even get all gussied up for tonight. Early in the epidemic, Purdue gave doctors OxyContin fishing hats and swing-music CDs to encourage them to prescribe more of the drug. People who criticized Young swiftly became his enemies. Know his wife, age, net worth, family, Young had also allegedly begun siphoning off $100 almost every day from the clinic for his personal expenses, according to former employees. 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. Weeks after the indictment made national news, the clinic was packed with people coming and going, one woman who worked in a building with a view of the parking lot told me. I accept all insurance, he told her. (Court records do not contain the names of Youngs alleged victims.) Jackson, Tennessee. Eventually Shirley Pickering, the nursing-board investigator who was looking into the allegations against Young, also grew terrified of him. 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. (Young has denied that hed had sex with the patient who appeared to be drugged.). Sometimes he wore scrubs, but most of the time he had on jeans, scrub tops, and a rock T-shirt, and a doctors jacket. The biggest blow came in 2019, when Jeff was indicted by the federal government for overprescribing opioids, often in order to get, quote, money, notoriety, and sexual favors., In a court hearing, investigators described several Facebook messages between Jeff and his patients, identified only by their initials. 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. All of them said that they didnt think Jeff sexually abused them. She doesnt believe the allegations against him, and chalks them up to pure jealousy. (The background music shifts tone dramatically to a wispy, light, contemplative energy.). I mean, if somebody pats you on the back, that aint coming on to you. But it seemed like she wasnt the only one getting pain meds from the Rock Doc. 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. Kevin: (In a Periscope video.) Otherwise, fledgling practices, in particular, risk losing patients. He seemed, to his former employees, constitutionally unable to deny patients the pills they wanted, even if it was the last thing they needed. Find Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok profiles, images and more on IDCrawl - free people search website. He may have that, but hes not Hes down to earth. Our team also includes Gabrielle Berbey, Emily Botein, Matt Collette, Tracie Hunte, and me, Natalia Ramirez. His small fiefdom of followers created a mini echo chamber, feeding back approval and encouragement. Unnamed guest: I cant believe he stabbed himself (Fades under.). 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. Despite some patients praise for Young, the evidence that he routinely walked far over that line remains alarming. Former employees speculated that he met the women in bars. Young cries at his sons fifth-grade graduation, then explains that hes so emotional because his nurses are having their periods. Khazan: Not long after Jeff opened Preventagenix, the Tennessee nursing board started to investigate him for prescribing high doses of opioids to his patients, even when he didnt have a good medical reason. With a heavy Mercy me, Phillips produces a pair of womens panties from a bag. Young grabs them and takes a big whiff. To date, none of the alleged victims in Youngs court case has come forward publicly to speak against him. In recent years, the Justice Department has started coming for unscrupulous doctors and pharmacists, too. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, and is currently in jail awaiting trial. Young: Whats up, my friend? Visit our website terms of use at www.wnyc.org for further information. Then it rewinds into nothingness.). But the board has a history of letting suspicious providers go on practicing for years. 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. Nurse practitioners have played a key role in Tennessees opioid epidemic. And Im like, Oh. [A beat.] In the past two decades, overdoses involving prescription opioids have killed more than 232,000 peoplethe population of Jackson several times overand the major players in the epidemic are finally being held to account. He didnt pull any punches, she said. All rights reserved. A few months into their new venture, Reitz and Young were supposed to meet to discuss the running of the clinic. And it was immediately clear that he is not your average medical provider. He would try to squeeze in even more patient visits each daysometimes well over 50, former employees sayand would either forget to document services or would document services he hadnt provided. A staffer, who declined to talk on the record, asked me why I was writing about him. There were reports of after-hours partiespossibly of Jeff having sex with his patients. And he said, You be sure and tell them that Jeff is the best doctor Ive ever seen. He said, Promise me you will tell them that. I said, I promise I will. I said, I will tell them that., (The music plays up for a long moment, then fades out under the narration.). She once saw someone running across her yard into the woods. 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. (Fades under.). Kevin: And were going to ask our friendsour warriors out thereto put these folks in their place, because, you know, the Golden Rule. Naylor: (A sharp inhale.) Patients would spend an hour or two in the waiting room, only to get a rushed exam and prescription. Khazan: In his Periscope videos, Jeff insisted it was all fun and games, and people were just criticizing him because of his style. The cost of producing the Rock Doc pilot, about $2,000, was entirely paid for by the clinic, Gutgsell claimed in a deposition. Thats the only way you can describe it. Were going to take the worst of the worst. [Khazan laughs.] FNP Jeff Young Jr. shares his life with his fans and promotes a healthy and fun lifestyle to make you "young" at heart! 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. But maybe, just maybe, he showed too much. The resulting addictions were blamed on reckless patients, rather than the fundamental chemistry of the opioids themselves. Khazan: Thirty-one doctors and seven other nurse practitioners were busted in that same Justice Department sweep that caught Jeff. 1:07. I mean, you wouldve thought they were giving away meds for free, to be honest. Instead, Young began by kicking Reitz out of the business, Reitz told me. The cause of death, according to the letter, was a probable cardiac event due to polypharmacy, or the simultaneous use of multiple drugs.. Will be glad to take the balance out of your ass. To another, Jeff asked, You want to come by for a checkup tomorrow? 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. States largely rely on medical boards to regulate practitioners, but these entities have a reputation for leniency. Khazan: Christi had really appreciated what Jeff did for her. (Soft percussive synthesizer music plays.). Whether or not Young is convicted, the perverse incentives for doctors to see patients for short visits and to prescribe too many unnecessary drugs will remain. Aw, shit! Together, they are the parents of three children and have seven grandchildren. 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. Others accused me of seeking to discredit Young and slander his name. 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 . Patients say the Rock Doc helped them like no one else could. 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. Three, two, one. In February 2016, he texted one of his opioid patients, a police officer named Jay Green. We got a very, uh, important (Fades under.). 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. Years before the launch of PreventaGenix, Young had already been accused of abusing his nurse-practitioner license. 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. Not that half of the, you know powers that be are on some sort of whatever. (The synthesizer takes over the harmony, traipsing up and down the melody line before it quiets and the episode ends.). Country music lyrics, guitar tabs/tablatures, chords source #1. Though Young claimed that he also fired drug-seeking patients, Gutgsell testified in a deposition that he would meet some patients after hours and write them prescriptions anyway. By 2012, Young was allegedly supplying testosterone without a clear medical reason to high schoolers who wanted to bulk up. His friend Melanie Lupino, a local bartender, said he got girlfriends easily, so she was baffled by the notion that he would have to give people drugs to get sex. 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.) Some of his patients were police officers whom he would occasionally ask for favors. Calles: Yes. You may not like me. In 2013, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic disorder that is usually accompanied by widespread pain and fatigue. You may not like my rock and roll, you may not like my piercings, you may not like my sexy-ass beard, but you know what? Years active. Yet he still attracted patients at GeneXis prior to his detention hearing in May 2019. Actually very nice, yeah. Thank you for listening. While Youngs antics could be a nightmare for his staff, his pool of patients increased as word about his practice spread. Young began arriving at the clinic smelling rancid, with greasy hair, and the clinics money problems mounted. Over that time, his online following grew. 13.6k members in the AutoNewspaper community. At other times, PreventaGenix staffers would stumble upon a woman he had brought to the clinic the previous night. In 2014, Young began seeing a patient identified as MY in a letter from Tennessees department of healtha letter that would ultimately lead to a nursing-board hearing for Young. Young seemed eager to hire lots of staff, but would end up firing them later. In his frequent social-media updates, he would drink and flip off the camera. Purdue voice-over: Some patients may be afraid of taking opioids because theyre perceived as too strong or addictive but that is far from actual fact. Some of Youngs dalliances with his patient-friends similarly took a dark turn. It surprised her, but Jeff was attuned to all that. But it played [Emphasizing.] Kevin: Jeff and I are full of antics. But I was willing to overlook all that, you know? Off camera, Young allegedly prescribed 1.4 million addictive pills and had sex with female patients. You know that. Khazan: Tanya had a different theory about where all the criticism was actually coming from. Its a shame, he told me, that Young got into so much legal trouble; think of all the people he might have helped. Young would call these liaisons nooners or say it was tap-that-ass Tuesday, according to court testimony. One story I found in a letter from Jeffs nursing-board case stuck with me. Calles: Doctors judged me because of my weight. Young did seem to be famous enough in Jackson, however, to reinforce his own grand vision of himself. The allegations, when they started coming, though, really started coming fast. Hes just laid back. 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.