Dear NCS Members,

As we welcome February, I’m excited to share key updates and extend our gratitude to those who have made invaluable contributions to the Neurocritical Care Society.

Neurocritical Care Foundation Transition

First, I want to thank Dr. Paul Nyquist for his outstanding leadership as the Neurocritical Care Foundation President. Under his guidance, the foundation has taken shape and is collaboratively moving forward to fundraise on behalf of the society’s mission. As Dr. Nyquist transitions to his role as Past President, please join me in welcoming Dr. Ahmed Hassan as the incoming foundation president. We look forward to the energy and innovation he will bring to this role.

ENLS 6.0

In other exciting news, we are proud to announce the launch of ENLS 6.0! This latest iteration of the Emergency Neurological Life Support® (ENLS) course incorporates the most up-to-date evidence and best practices, further solidifying ENLS as the gold standard in neurocritical care education focused on the critical first hours of a patient’s neurological emergency. The new version of ENLS soft-launched at three in-person events last week: the 2025 MENA Regional Meeting in Kuwait, the NeuroIntensive Medicine ANIM 2025 event in Germany and at the University of Washington. Thank you to Dr. Aimee Aysenne, Dr. Jennifer Munoz, Rachel Hausladen and the entire ENLS Committee for their hard work to make this happen!

NCS Collaborative Efforts

We’re also seeing tremendous growth in collaboration efforts across organizations. Here are just a few examples:

• Ethics Committee Collaboration with AAN: The NCS Ethics Committee, with leadership from Dr. Matt Jaffa and Dr. Richard Choi, is contributing to the development of thoraco-abdominal NRP guidelines, in collaboration with AAN.
• Child Neurology Society Partnership: NCS has been invited to present pediatric neurocritical care content at their annual meeting, with Dr. Matthew Kirschen representing our society.
• Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Initiative: The National Board of Echocardiography has sought input from NCS regarding a potential POCUS examination and certification. Dr. Aarti Sarwal will represent NCS in these discussions. 
• The Neurocritical Care and Trauma Advisory Committee: This multidisciplinary council is organized under the auspices of the Society of Neurological Surgeons (SNS). The committee has members from SNS, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and Congress of Neurological Surgeons. NCS has been asked to join these efforts, and Dr. Jordan Bonomo will be the NCS ambassador in these meetings.

NCS’s Commitment to Advancing Research

The NCS is closely monitoring the effects of recent Executive Orders on the field of Neurocritical Care. The NCS recognizes the concerns of our members and level of uncertainty and anxiety that these recent orders may bring. We are liaising with multiple other societies to understand how best to serve our members. We want to affirm our mission to improve outcomes for patients with critical neurologic illness and thank you all for your daily exceptional commitment to our core mission.

The Brain Rules the Heart

As February unfolds, I’d like to wish you all a happy Valentine’s Day! While the heart often takes center stage this month, let’s not forget: the brain trumps the heart—after all, it’s the true command center for all those feelings of love and connection.

Thank you for all that you do to advance neurocritical care. Please continue to share your ‘Making Wave” stories by sending them to info@neurocriticalcare.org. I look forward to all we will accomplish together in the coming months.