Caring for aging parents takes a toll on workers

Companies, lawmakers try to address problem facing many Americans

BY MARSHA KING
Seattle Times

SEATTLE: Renee Simpkins never thought her biggest worry at work would turn out to be caring for her mother.

But since last summer, she has tried frantically to juggle her full-time job as a program administrator with Boeing Inc. with helping her sister take care of their 78-year-old mother, who has suffered from stomach problems and cancer, emphysema and a life-threatening bout of flu.

Simpkins has used all her sick leave and four of her five weeks of vacation. She occasionally has to leave work early and make up the time at odd hours. While on the job, she makes phone calls checking on her mother's care. During Christmas vacation, instead of taking time to recharge, she drove three hours round trip every day to visit her mom in a hospital in Bremerton.