When 72-year-old Jewell Nicolazzi fell in her house and couldn’t get up, she called 911.
   But as the paramedics took her to an ambulance on a stretcher, Nicolazzi didn’t need to remember her doctor’s name, her allergies or even her medications.
   They were listed in her File of Life, a bright red pouch stuck on her refrigerator.
   The paramedics “recognized it right away,” she said. “They said, ‘You’ve got a File of Life! How wonderful!”
   The File of Life, a program run by the Kenosha Area Family and Aging Services, creates a red folder of medical information that seniors can stick on their fridge in case of emergency.
   Complete with names of family members and doctors, allergies, medical conditions and medications, the file informs rescue workers and doctors of the information that the patient might not know or be able to tell.
   “Then they don’t have to ask 20 million questions,” said Pat Mich, who coordinates the program.
   The program, which has been around for at least six years, is funded with a Homeland Security grant and has provided nearly a thousand local seniors with the file.
   “It’s really a lifesaver,” Mich said.
   In order to make sure the forms are filled out correctly, volunteers go to seniors’ homes to fill it out for them.
   “A lot of these people who live alone never see anybody,” Mich said. “It gives them a connection with us.”
   Nicolazzi, who lives alone, said she couldn’t remember how long she had the file and said she had forgotten the folder was even there.
   “I don’t know if I could have told all the medications I was on or anything,” she said.
   Mich said her organization coordinates with dispatchers so paramedics know when a house should have the file on the fridge.
   Kenosha Fire Department Emergency Medical Services Chief Richard Meeker said the program benefits both sides.
   “I think it’s extremely helpful when that information is readily available in an emergency situation,” he said.
   However, Meeker said it’s difficult to keep the file up to date.
   Mich said volunteers try to update the files every six months and said seniors should update the file every time they use it.
   Nicolazzi, who just had her folder updated, said she was thankful that she had the information on hand when she needed it.
   “I try to encourage other people around here to sign up,” she said.

KENOSHA NEWS PHOTOS BY PAUL WILLIAMS
Jewell Nicolazzi, 72, sits in her walker with her File of Life next to her on the refrigerator. When Nicolazzi fell in her house, paramedics used the file to figure out her medications, medical conditions and allergies. Nicolazzi said she doesn’t know what she would have done without it.