Note From the Editor Colleagues: Quarterly News Magazine I want to welcome you to the second issue of Currents for 2015, the official of the quarterly news magazine of the NCS. The summer issue of Currents is Neurocritical Care Society typically focused on developments in the upcoming NCS Annual Meeting and this year is no exception. We feature several articles that serve as a preview for the changes and enhancements to this year’s meeting in June, 2015 Scottsdale, Arizona. Volume 10 - Number 2 I also want to keep NCS members informed about the other media-related activities of the NCS Communications Committee. One of the main goals of the committee Editor-in-Chief has been to improve the NCS website. With that goal in mind, committee members and the Matthew Koenig, MD NCS executive office recently completed a lengthy evaluation process to find a new Association Honolulu, HI Management Software and Content Management System for our website and membership directory. After creating a Request for Proposal, the committee reviewed proposals from eight different vendors. Committee members then ranked each of the proposals to narrow the field Editorial Board down to three potential vendors. Romergryko Geocadin, MD Over the last three months, the Communications Committee along with the NCS officers Baltimore, MD reviewed product demonstrations from the three finalist vendors and chose the best fit for the needs of our society. I am very pleased to announce that we unanimously selected JL Systems to Wendy Wright, MD provide our new Association Management Software and Content Management System. Atlanta, GA Changing to a new vendor will include improvements to the content and look of the website, Robert Kowalski, MD improved internet security features, and a much needed overhaul of our member database. These Denver, CO improvements will make the content of the website more customizable for different user types. It JoAnn Taie will also improve integration between the website and external platforms that support Currents, Minneapolis, MN in when visiting the NCS website because custom content may only be available for specificENLS, and NCS OnDemand. With this customization, it will become more important to log Susanne Muehlschlegel, MD member types. Boston, MA Over the next six months, members should expect to hear a lot more about upcoming changes J.J. Baumann, RN to the website. One of the functionalities I am most excited about will be the ability to archive Stanford, CA and catalog Currents such that members can easily search for content in back issues, like that NCS salary survey everyone is always trying to find. Kimberly Levasseur-Franklin, PharmD In addition to changes to the NCS website, we are also announcing the publication of the first New Haven, CT book from the NCS Educational Products Committee. As Claude Hemphill and Alejandro Rabinstein describe in their article, the NCS is now a publisher and The Practice of Neurocritical Katja Wartenberg, MD Care text book is now available on-line through the NCS OnDemand portal and at internet book Halle, Germany stores like iTunes and Amazon. Go buy a copy today. Gretchen Brophy, MD Also debuting this month on NCS OnDemand is the long planned Brain Death Toolkit. This Columbus, OH module includes a series of educational articles, videos, and manuscripts that focus on educating the public and other medical providers about the process of brain death declaration. It also Fred Rincon, MD includes sample brain death policies that hospitals can use as a template for updating their Philadelphia, PA own policies and procedures related to brain death declaration. This project resulted from a lot of work by the NCS Brain Death Subcommittee and it represents a timely and much needed Tamer Abdelhak, MD educational tool in these days of confusion and misinformation about brain death. Springfield, IL I hope you enjoy this issue. As always, if you have suggestions on improving Currents or want Sarah Livesay, DNP, RN to contribute, please email me at mkoenig95@gmail.com. I’m also on the lookout for future Chicago, IL Currents cover artwork, so send me artwork that you would like to see proudly displayed on an upcoming issue. Eelco Wijdicks, MD, PhD Rochester, MN On the Cover: The cover art for this issue was submitted by Huy Tran, MD, a neurointensivist at Saef Izzy, MD the University of New Mexico and co-chair of the NCS Communications Committee. The photo Boston, MA to January, the sandhill cranes and snow geese come to rest at dusk in the ponds of the Bosquewas taken at the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. “From October Del Apache in New Mexico. There, they spend the night until morning when they start taking off sporadically shortly after sunrise until suddenly, by some unknown trigger, they start to take off all at once in mass exodus as if reaching an action potential. It is quite a magnificent sight to see. In keeping with the Southwestern theme and the Annual Meeting location in Arizona, I thought this would be appropriate material for the NCS newsletter cover art,” says Dr. Tran. Cheers, Matthew Koenig, MD, FNCS 2 Editor-in-Chief
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