Hospital Adds New Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

With the ever-growing popularity of electric vehicles, Columbus Community Hospital recently has added two new electric vehicle charging stations to better serve its patients and employees. Both stations are ChargePoint Level 2 commercial charging stations capable of charging two vehicles simultaneously.

“We decided to add the electric car chargers after several requests from employees, physicians and community members who needed to charge their vehicles away from home,” said Scott Messersmith, vice president of operations and human resources. “We were able to utilize rebates offered by the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy through Nebraska Public Power District and Loup Power District to cover a large portion of the equipment and installation cost.”

The first station is located in the hospital’s designated employee parking lot, and the second is in the outer ring of the hospital’s southwest parking lot, near the gazebo. The hospital welcomes anyone with an electric vehicle to use the charging station, and asks individuals who drive gasoline-powered cars to use other parking spaces.

Each station adds approximately 25 miles of charge onto an electric vehicle in an hour. The hospital set the charging rates based on recommendations from ChargePoint, with the cost increasing after the initial four-hour timeframe. The hospital encourages individuals to move their vehicle from the station once the charging is complete.

In addition to CCH’s new charging stations, there are three other public vehicle charging stations in Columbus. Drivers can access these stations at Loup Power District, Nebraska Public Power District and the Highway 81 recreational vehicle park.

For information on Columbus Community Hospital and its services, visit columbushosp.org.