Jacobs School faculty member saves concertgoer

Jacobs School faculty member Richard Braen has enjoyed his fair share of orchestra concerts. 

But the opening night of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s Classics Series on Sept. 28 is one that he won’t soon forget.

As the audience settled in for the performance, the evening took an unexpected turn when the words ‘Is there a doctor in the house?’ echoed through Kleinhans Music Hall shortly after Stravinsky'’s “The Firebird Suite.”

Seated in the balcony, Braen, professor and chair emeritus of emergency medicine, heard the plea and immediately sprang into action, joining others to assist. Amid the chaos, he performed CPR and successfully revived the unresponsive individual. His quick response, critical for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival, saved the concertgoer’s life.

That concertgoer was David Cohen, a retired music teacher, active musician and occasional Kleinhans attendee.

“I had to go to the bathroom, so I had just started down the steps, and the last thing I remember is, I missed a step and started falling,” Cohen recalls. “I must have hit my head on the way down because I blacked out.”  

“But I was told that Dr. Braen came to my rescue and that I had no pulse, and he did CPR on me,” Cohen says. “He saved my life.”

When Braen reached Cohen, another individual had been attempting CPR but quickly stepped aside when Braen arrived. “Mr. Cohen at that point had no pulses, no respirations. He was basically dead,” Braen says. 

Braen took action. He checked Cohen’s carotid artery for a pulse — nothing. He checked his breathing — nothing. Blood from Cohen’s injury stained the floor.

Braen began chest compressions and called for an AED. By the time one arrived several minutes later, Braen could already start to feel a pulse.

Cohen was saved.

“Dr. Braen’s actions at Kleinhans Music Hall remind all of us that the commitment to care for others never fades. His swift, lifesaving response reflects the deep sense of responsibility that defines our medical community,” says Allison Brashear, vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School. “We are proud to count him among our Jacobs School family, where his legacy continues to inspire both his former colleagues and the next generation of physicians.”

At Kleinhans, emergency services soon arrived and Cohen was transported to ECMC. The concert was temporarily paused while the incident was addressed.

A seasoned physician with more than five decades of experience, Braen has witnessed numerous cardiac events throughout his career. He emphasizes that prompt initiation of CPR is critical to survival. “The statistics for cardiac arrest that are not in a hospital are not very good, for survival and brain function,” Braen explains. “It’s probably around 15%.” He adds that Cohen is “a real lucky guy.”   

Braen further advocates for community CPR training. “You really have to have the lessons on how to do it. You have to know what to check for, how to do the evaluation in the first place very quickly,” he says. “And then you have to be able to apply it.”  

Braen has since been in touch with the grateful Cohen, who is focusing on recovery. Cohen has experienced headaches and vertigo after falling, but he’s following doctor’s orders and resting while halting any brain-stimulating activity. “I’m thankful that even with the brain injury, I’m totally lucid,” Cohen says. “I’m normally a very positive person and determined. I’m determined to beat this. Period.”

A bass player, Cohen has had to cease practicing and playing music, at least temporarily. “I definitely plan to return to playing again,” he says.

Braen is not only a lover of music but also a dedicated student of the soprano saxophone. As it turns out, Braen’s saxophone instructor has played in a band with Cohen before. Braen says that he and Cohen actually have many mutual friends within Buffalo’s music community. But the two had never met before that night.

Braen, who retired in 2016, also previously served as associate dean for graduate medical education for the Jacobs School.

Underscoring the focus on bystander intervention in cardiac arrest, the Jacobs School recently initiated outreach programs providing CPR and AED training to individuals in underserved Buffalo communities. Led by Leslie J. Bisson, the June A. and Eugene R. Mindell, MD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Orthopaedics, the programs have trained thousands of participants. 

Additionally, the Jacobs School has launched a crowdsourcing initiative aimed at identifying and registering the locations of AEDs throughout Western New York. The goal of the project, which is being led by Jacobs School doctoral student Rhonda Drewes, is to make AEDs instantly searchable on popular map apps to reduce response time in an emergency.