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Articles -Gresham Outlook: Life Styles NW

An all-in-one health organizer
A Portland woman creates a notebook to keep track of all your medical info

By Janie Nafsinger
Lifestyles editor

It was only when she began chauffeuring her mother to doctorıs appointments about five years ago that Joanna Ceciliani realized she knew next to nothing about her momıs health-care needs. What medications did she take? What was her blood type? When was her last physical?

So Ceciliani began keeping a notebook listing prescription drugs, health history, doctorıs visits and other personal medical information for her mother, Adoline Ceciliani, now 84.

The notebook proved so useful that Ceciliani, a 55-year-old Portland native, event planner and Portland Opera singer, created The DOCit™ Personal Health Care Notebook, an organizer in which to record and track an individual's medical information, all in one place.

"You can keep track of everything in the book and make notes of questions to ask your doctor the next time you have an appointment," says Ceciliani, who has produced about 200 notebooks so far and sold them through word of mouth.

The 10-by-11-1/2-inch loose-leaf notebook is divided into different sections, starting with personal and family medical history along with important phone numbers. "It helps when youıre in the hospital because thatıs the sort of information doctors want," Ceciliani says. "It works pretty well."

Other sections offer places to record blood pressure and pulse measurements, appointments, test results, prescription medicines and insurance payments. There also are pages for jotting down notes and storing business cards and receipts.

In addition, Ceciliani devised a "pill pocket," a plastic sleeve for storing samples of medications - it acts as a visual aid, making it easier to tell one pill from another. The pill pocket can be ordered separately.

Now that she has developed a health organizer for humans, Ceciliani has created another one to help people track their dogs' and cats' health needs. Her pet health organizer is a 4-by-6-inch notebook that includes charts and pages for recording medications, flea and tick treatments, veterinarian visits, the types and quantities of food your pet eats, even the times of day they are fed. Itıs a great guide for pet sitters, notes Ceciliani, who keeps notebooks for her dog, Daisy, and cat, Stella.

Ceciliani, who sings in the Portland Opera Chorus, is married to Multnomah County Judge Douglas Beckman. She and her husband have five children between the two of them, along with three grandchildren.

"I think it's for every single person," she says of the Personal Health Care Notebook, adding that even young adults can use the book to start tracking their medications.

The DOCit™ Personal Health Care Notebook costs $25, and the pet notebook sells for $15, plus $3.95 for postage and handling. To purchase them or obtain more information, log onto Web site www.docit.biz or e-mail Ceciliani at icebreak@comcast.net.

All rights reserved. No part of these notebooks may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Photocopying is allowed only to add pages to a book that was already purchased.