Western Governors University salutes night shift workers across the U.S.

SALT LAKE CITY, OCTOBER 30, 2025 — Western Governors University’s (WGU) Michael O. Leavitt School of Health has organized its first nationwide drive to honor night shift workers serving an extra hour on duty when the clocks roll back at the end of daylight saving time. As part of this initiative, WGU’s Leavitt School of Health is delivering 1,350 appreciation packages, each serving 10 workers, to hospital systems and healthcare facilities across the country.

“When clocks fall back on November 2, most of us gain an extra hour of rest, but night shift nurses and health professionals spend that hour giving more care, comfort, and compassion,” said Dr. Courtney Hills McBeth, chief academic officer and provost at WGU. “This is an opportunity to honor their dedication with care packages — our way of saying thank you for the extraordinary work they do, every night, every hour.”

Initially launched in Indiana in 2013, this campaign is based on the theme of celebrating and saluting night shift workers who work twice during the 2:00 a.m. hour when the clocks roll back to mark the end of daylight saving time. This year’s campaign encompassed the organization of packing parties at WGU’s four Clinical Learning and Simulation Centers in Utah, Texas, Missouri and Indiana, as well as the institution’s regional office in Tennessee. WGU volunteers, including members from senior leadership, faculty, staff, alumni and students, joined packing parties to prepare appreciation kits for distribution to hospitals and healthcare facilities across the country. WGU’s West and Northeast regions did not host packing parties but used other regional locations to prepare care packages for distribution to nearby health systems.

“We’re thankful to health care professionals for their diligent service in diverse communities, and for the resilience when they work for an additional hour during the night shift as clocks turn back,” said Dr. Anmy Mayfield, vice president and dean for WGU’s College of Nursing at the Leavitt School of Health. “These night shift workers not only deliver seamless patient care, they also mentor students in clinical placements and train the next generation of caregivers.”

WGU’s appreciation kits contain assorted goodies such as eye masks, medical scissors, pens, and other items, along with an opportunity to participate in a giveaway for Owala water bottles. The university’s staff is personally delivering these care packages that will be opened by night shift workers on November 2.

WGU acknowledges that balancing life and pursuing education, especially as a night shift worker, requires persistence and hard work. To help make education flexible and accessible, WGU has reopened its annual Night Shift Worker scholarship, valued at up to $4,000, where eligible students are invited to apply for the scholarship when enrolling in programs offered via the four schools at WGU — Health, Technology, Business and Education. Recognizing the country’s critical health care workforce shortages and the need to build a strong pipeline of competent professionals, WGU has also extended its Heartbeat of Healthcare scholarship for registered nurses (RN) joining the revamped Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-to-BSN) and the bridge Master of Science in Nursing (RN-to-MSN) programs, and eligible students are invited to apply for this scholarship.