WGU Delivers Cookies to Advocate Christ Nurses for Clock Change

OAK LAWN, IL — In honor of the end of Daylight Saving Time, Western Governors University (WGU) surprised hundreds of healthcare workers at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn on the evening of Nov. 6 with individually wrapped cookies from Feed Your Soul Bakery. The cookies were delivered by WGU Strategic Partnerships Manager Joe DeJohns as a way to show appreciation for the night shift nurses who had to work an extra hour when the clocks were set back last weekend.

From 7-10 p.m. on Nov. 6, DeJohns was stationed outside Café 95 – located in Advocate Christ Medical Center – handing out cookies to 360 night shift workers. He also informed the healthcare professionals about the fully online, nonprofit university’s Night Shift Workers Scholarship, which is open to dedicated night shift workers returning to school in any of the four WGU colleges, including health professions. Each scholarship is valued at up to $4,000 per new or returning student and is open through Dec. 31, 2021.

“Our night shift team members really enjoyed this particular visit by WGU to welcome in the ‘fall back’ time change,” said Betty Ciciora, Administrative Assistant of Human Resources at Advocate Christ Medical Center. “They were excited about the special night shift scholarship being offered and were grateful for the cookies that Joe brought in to get them through working an additional hour that night. Christ Medical Center is proud to partner with Western Governors University as a preferred educational partner.”

Healthcare workers have been on the front lines long before the onset of the pandemic, carrying an emotional and physical burden that often goes unnoticed. With increased patient demand brought forth by COVID, aging Baby Boomers and lengthened life spans, registered nursing was the fourth most in-demand job in our nation’s workforce as of June 2021, according to a LinkedIn study. Now more than ever, healthcare workers must be supported and celebrated as the industry faces a projected shortage of an estimated 1.1 million employees by 2022.

WGU has a proud history of thanking night shift workers. As a flexible, online university, many of its students are night owls themselves. To learn more about WGU and its commitment to night shift works and healthcare professionals, visit wgu.edu.

About WGU

Established in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors with a mission to expand access to high-quality, affordable higher education, online, nonprofit WGU now serves more than 130,000 students nationwide and has more than 250,000 graduates in all 50 states. Driving innovation as the nation’s leading competency-based university, WGU has been recognized by the White House, state leaders, employers, and students as a model that works in postsecondary education. In just 22 years, the university has become a leading influence in changing the lives of individuals and families and preparing the workforce needed in today’s rapidly evolving economy. WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, and has been featured on NPR, NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in The New York Times. Learn more at www.wgu.edu.