Not only does this Bayshore employee work with the heart, he plays music from the heart. Chris Zitani has been a certified echo technician in Bayshore's cardiac service department for the last seven years. His role is to perform echocardiograms on both in and outpatients. An echocardiogram is the functional study of the heart to check for things such as blood flow, heart muscle function, heart murmurs or just about anything that may look abnormal.

"The entire echo is recorded and a printed report is sent to the ordering physician, after it is interpreted by a cardiologist," explains Chris. "Through my experience over the years of administering the tests, I have built a nice rapport with our great team of cardiologists."

It's ironic how Chris' path led him to cardiac services at Bayshore. Unfortunately, while working as a salesman at age 35, he had a heart attack. He found the many facets of his recovery process to be very interesting and decided on a career change. After going to school for medical assistant with ultrasound and an externship in echocardiography, Chris began working for a cardiologist in northern New Jersey.

Chris' journey to Bayshore became more destined while living with his wife, Ginny, in Lodi. He recollects, "Ginny just woke up one day and said, 'I hate living here; why don't we move down the shore?' This happened to be a time when the job placement director from my school told me about an opening at Bayshore. I interviewed with Wendy Brown and here I am."

"I like making patients feel comfortable by giving them a feeling of dignity and respect," explains Chris. "I have been on both sides of the bed, so I treat them as I would want to be treated. It really is satisfying if I can put them at ease."

Playing music from the heart is another passion for Chris. He has been playing guitar for 30 years and is self-taught. Chris does not read music; he plays completely from the heart and considers his music a form of therapy.

His band, Not For Prophet has just recorded and produced a debut CD called "D Songs of Tom," an all original rock & roll tribute album to their friend and band-mate, Tom Plaut, who passed away in March, 2006. Tom always envisioned his lyrics being heard by as many people as possible, through music, so his friends and co-writers, Chris and Phil Braun decided to use Tom’s lyrics with their music to do this tribute album.

Chris plays lead guitar and back-up vocals, along with composition of most of the music. The CD is a multi-track recording that took over six months to complete. The band includes Chris, Phil Braun on lead vocals and Don Braun.

The CD, "D Songs of Tom," is available in the hospital gift shop, where proceeds from these sales will go to the Bayshore Foundation and Breast Cancer programs. You can also go to the band’s website at www.notforprophetmusic.com and hear snippets from the album and read more about the band. Chris is very interested to know what you think of the album, so log on and give the band your feedback. It's worth a listen!

Employee Spotlight is an idea from the Rewards and Recognition Committee and modeled after a similar program at Disney World so employees can learn about a day in the life of a featured employee in the FYI. This program is intended not only to highlight a selected employee's talents and skills on a personal level, but also learn about the challenges of a typical day in various jobs within the BCHS organization.