Dr. Mikita Fuchita is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at University of Colorado, with fellowship training in cardiothoracic anesthesiology and critical care medicine. As a physician-scientist, his work focuses on translating practice innovations to the bedside to reduce delirium and improve recovery for critically ill patients. Dr. Fuchita is actively involved in the American Delirium Society and serves as a Conference Planning Committee Co-Chair for the ADS 2026 Annual Conference in Denver.

Tell us who you are:
I am an early-career physician-scientist at University of Colorado with a clinical practice in cardiothoracic anesthesiology and critical care. My passion for delirium prevention and management was shaped by listening to the lived experiences of delirium survivors, which underscored the profound and lasting human impact of delirium beyond acute illness. As an acute care specialist, my mission is to design, test, and implement innovative, scalable solutions to real-world problems—such as deep sedation, immobility, sleep disruption, and delirium—across critical care settings.

Your specialty or a project you’re currently working on:
Deep sedation, immobility, and delirium have lasting consequences for the health and quality of life of critical illness survivors. The goal of my research program is to develop tools, processes, and strategies that foster a culture of sedation minimization, where deep sedation becomes the exception rather than the rule for patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Using an agile implementation science approach, my work focuses on strengthening interprofessional team dynamics to optimize care delivery in the ICU.

  

The 2025 Annual Conference was a landmark year for ADS in Nashville, celebrating 15 years of connections, collaborations, and advancements in delirium research and clinical care. The 2025 Gala at the Country Music Hall of Fame provided a forum for patients to share heartfelt stories about how our mission uplifts and transforms lives. The ADS Annual Conference continues to provide a robust platform for professionals to convene, generate ideas, and establish impactful collaborations.

We expect 2026 to surpass expectations. Please mark your calendar for Denver, Colorado, June 14–16, 2026, for three days dedicated to cutting-edge delirium science and practice.

This past year also brought amazing advancements from ADS Committees and opportunities to highlight ADS member accomplishments!

The following awards were announced with the support of the ADS Advisory Committee, individual contributors, and the Borten Family Charitable Fund, including 11 scholarships totaling $28,800. ADS/Borten IS/QI Fellowship

• Karen Baatz, APRN, ACNS 
• Jadalyn Finley, DNP, RN, AGCNS-BC 
• Sandra Hogsed, CCC-SLP 
• Noah Lipshutz, PharmD 
• Madeleine Schroll, OTD, OTR/L 
• Jennifer Sinclair, MOT, OTR/L 
• Milo Small, PT, DPT 
• Rachel Stein, PharmD, BCACP 2025 

ADS Borten Family Charitable Fund Junior Investigator Awards

• Shih-Yin Lin, PhD, MM, MPH 
• Yiying (Laura) Zhang, M.D. 2025 

ADS Junior Investigator/Mentorship Award

• Rachel M Skains, MSPH, MD

ADS colleagues, 

We want to highlight your delirium research! We are excited to start highlighting recent scientific articles on delirium. If you have a recent publication and would like it to be highlighted on our website, please let us know. We welcome all peer-reviewed delirium research from basic to translational to clinical. We would need the following information plus a few other related details:  

1. Your name 
2. Your affiliation(s)
3. The article title and journal information
4. A 4-5 sentence summary of the article and its most important findings

Submit Your Research Here

Stay well,
 ADS Governance Committee

The Education Committee has been quite active since our last in person meeting at the 2025 ADS Conference in Nashville. Minor revisions have been made to the content of the eBook: Initiating, Growing and Sustaining a Delirium Program located under Resources Suite on the Education Tab of the ADS Website. To expand the scope outside of acute care, two new documents were created by education committee members and added to the list of available resources under the family guidance section of the Patients and Families tab:

• Understanding Delirium and Taking Action: A Guide for Adults and Care Partners in the Community

• Delirium in Palliative and End of Life Care: Information for Patients and Families

Please use these resources freely and suggest additional content you would find helpful.

Committee members are actively working on reviewing content for the upcoming resource being developed in collaboration with the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. This multi-media educational program entitled Age-Friendly Delirium Care: Protecting Vulnerable Patients will prepare a healthcare professional to earn a micro-credential in delirium care. We look forward to sharing more information about this opportunity in the near future, with a target release date of Spring 2026.

Our committee members are participating in conference 2026 planning by reviewing presentation abstracts. If you would like to join this committee, we are always looking for active members to contribute their time and expertise. Please contact Tanya Mailhot or Christine Waszynski for more information.

Happy New Year ADS Members!

ADS has been asked to provide information on the current status of delirium measurement and tracking in the field to inform the development of standardized delirium quality indicators. As we know, our members are implementing programs across multiple health care settings, we need your help in collecting this information to describe the breadth of approaches taken. 

This survey contains four main sections: (1) Quality metrics, (2) Risk assessment, (3) Screening, and (4) Prevention/management. This survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Participation is voluntary, responses will be reported in the aggregate. 

We understand this is a busy time of year and ask you to please complete and submit the survey no later than January 17th, 2026.

Many thanks in advance. We sincerely appreciate your contribution to this important work. 

Take the survey 

~ADS Board of Directors

By Heidi Smith, MD, MSCI
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Dear ADS Members and Partners,

As we turn the calendar to a bright New Year, I am filled with optimism about the opportunities before us to advance care for patients across the age spectrum who are at risk for or suffer from delirium. Our commitment to evidence-based medicine, robust clinical and basic science research, implementation science, and quality improvement will continue to shape practice and improve outcomes. I am deeply grateful for the dedication of all ADS members in delivering exemplary care to patients and their families. While a growing society may have more limited capacity to reward membership relative to larger organizations, our focus remains steadfast on fostering an inclusive and active community, cultivating inter-societal partnerships, and maintaining a vibrant forum at our annual conferences. I am thankful for the relationships you have built within the ADS community and for the collaborations—past, present and future—that will drive transformative care. The energy and insights from the outstanding evidence-based science presentations, educational workshops that focus on optimizing delirium care, and mentorship opportunities at our annual conferences, continually remind me why ADS exists: to elevate delirium care through rigor, curiosity, and shared purpose. 

We have enthusiastically expanded our conference experience to bolster scientific content across three days, a change driven by the remarkable volume of clinical and basic science work submitted for ADS 2025 in Nashville, TN! This evolution has enriched the learner experience and been further enhanced by workshops on grant writing, Delirium 101, implementation and quality improvement science. The next level of our expanding journey will be unveiled at the 16th Annual ADS Conference in Denver, CO, June 14–16, 2026. I look forward to embarking on this milestone with you. We remain steadfast in our commitment to growth, and this year ADS is introducing a new focal area for on advocacy and leadership—an integral part of our mission to impact patients beyond the hospital walls. In this spirit, Simon Sinek’s concept of knowing our “why” resonates: we exist to illuminate the purpose behind every patient touchpoint, ensuring our work is meaningful, aligned with core values, and capable of rallying others to the cause. Our advocacy must operate at local, state, and national levels, translating “our why” into tangible actions that advance patient care and health equity. I am pleased to announce two fellowship positions for the Advocacy and Leadership Workshop this year, supported by a $1500 ADS Presidential donation. The call for applications will open with registration for the 2026 Annual Conference. 

The 3rd Annual ADS Gala in Denver will embody our “societal why”: improving lives not only through the care we provide at the bedside but also by equipping patients and families  for success and sustained recovery at home. We are committed to being the voice for delirium and translating advocacy into action by expanding our impact. It is my sincere hope that every member will have the firsthand opportunity to experience the benefits of membership--registration discounts, collaborative engagement at each annual conference, and access to high-level educational content on the ADS website. I encourage involvement with our active committees: Membership and Communication, Research, Education, and Advisory opportunities to the ADS Board of Directors. To better serve members and new conference attendees, ADS leadership aims to deepen our understanding of how to enhance educational, leadership, clinical, research, and mentorship opportunities. This past year, committee chairs have been invited to attend ADS Board of Director meetings on a rotating basis to share successes and identify opportunities for Board support to advance committee initiatives. 

Finally, as a new initiative this year, the ADS Board of Directors will commence biannual retreats to refine our mechanisms for advancing the society toward new heights in service of our mission. We look forward to expanding our understanding of philanthropy and advocacy. We deeply appreciate the support of our sponsors and the growing opportunities to develop industry partnerships. It is my hope that the ADS Board’s commitment to expanding our knowledge and reach in support of our societal mission reflects our dedication to you and to our patients. To those who give their time to deliver excellence in care to patients from birth to the end of life, I invite you to join, contribute, and help us forge new paths. Every patient, every day, every touchpoint—the hospital should be the most nurturing environment possible to propel recovery. 

Happy New Year, and I look forward to seeing you in Denver for ADS 2026.

With gratitude and anticipation,

Heidi AB Smith, MD, MSCI
President, American Delirium Society