Caregiving often comes with new responsibilities and unfamiliar tasks, yet few caregivers ever receive education or training.

Home safety is one aspect of caregiving that is vitally important, but may be easily overlooked. Many caregivers are caring for loved ones in their own homes - homes that, in most cases, were not designed with caregiving in mind. There are, however, a lot of relatively simple things you can do to reduce the hazards in your home.

Take some time to look closely at each room where your loved one may spend time, paying special attention to the bedroom, bathroom and hallways. With advice from your loved one's health care team, you may need to make some changes. Here are a few things that can help:

- Grab bars near the toilet and bathtub

- Nonskid mats on the bathroom floor and in the bathtub

- Nightlights to make it easier to move around at night

- Working smoke alarms and fire extinguishers throughout the home

- Handrails from one room to another

- Raised toilet seats

Make sure that you store medications in a safe place, away from children and household chemicals. Always store medications where there is enough light to see labels clearly and discard outdated medications.

If your loved one is disabled, there are additional things that you can do. Make sure he or she uses a cane or walker, when needed, and have a clear path through each room - no rugs or raised room dividers to trip over and no slippery floors. In some cases, it might make sense to carpet the bathroom with all weather carpeting to help prevent falls. This kind of carpeting can be pulled up in sections, if it gets wet.

If your loved one is in a wheelchair, you may need to ensure that they can't fall out of it. If your loved one is weak, a tray that attaches to the wheelchair can prevent falls and provides a place for drinks, food and magazines.

You may also need to protect your loved one from falling out of bed. If the bed does not have guardrails, you can place the wheelchair or other guards next to the bed, and position your loved one in the middle so that she or he can turn over without fear of falling.

Quick, easy and readily available ways to communicate with others are a must for you and your loved one, especially in an emergency. You may borrow or purchase a cordless speaker phone with speed dial memory so that you can simply hit one button in an emergency and get help without compromising the safety of your loved one. Also, phones with a large digital display for easy reading and ring and voice enhancer are helpful for people who have hearing problems.

A cell phone can also be extremely useful if you and your family member travel or spend time away from home. You can also sign up for a medical or home alert system, which will summon help with the push of a button, if you occasionally leave your loved one alone. An intercom or baby monitor may be helpful in some situations so you may listen to your loved one when you are in another room, or perhaps a bell that they can ring to ask for help without yelling.

These are just a few of the things that you can do if you are a caregiver to provide a safe environment for the person you are caring for. There are many resources that exist in our community to help caregivers. If you would like more information, call 223-5500.

Nancy Norris is a licensed clinical social worker at Hospice of Amador.