More electric vehicle charging stations coming to Lehigh Valley Health Network facilities

Blink Charging initially installed the first Level 2 fast-charging stations at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township. Six additional chargers are scheduled to be installed at the Muhlenberg campus in Allentown and another six at the soon-to-open Hecktown Oaks campus in Lower Nazareth Township by early 2021.

The remainder of the healthcare network’s 219 chargers are expected to be installed throughout 2021, a Blink Charging representative said.

The charging stations will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Blink, one of the nation’s leading EV charging equipment providers, will own and operate the chargers, as well as handle customer transactions, under the seven-year agreement with Lehigh Valley Health.

Brian Nester, president and chief executive officer of the Lehigh Valley Health Network, said in a statement the network cares about the community’s environmental future and is committed to the use of clean energy and transportation. Electric vehicles have many benefits, including reducing carbon dioxide pollution and improving the health of communities, he said.

“That’s why we are excited to make EV (electric vehicle) fast-charging stations readily available to Lehigh Valley residents,” Nester added. “We believe this effort will help pave the way for more widespread adoption of electric vehicle use in the future.”

Blink Charging Chief Operating Officer Brendan Jones said as the electric vehicle boom continues, Blink is leveraging relationships, such as the agreement with Lehigh Valley Health Network, to identify host locations recognizing the need for charging infrastructure as consumer demand increases.

“We appreciate these long-term, exclusive contracts as they allow us and the host location to add charging stations as warranted by demand,” Jones said.

Similar charging stations were installed this past January at St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Anderson Campus in Bethlehem Township. The stations — available to healthcare staff, patients and visitors — are located in the parking lot next to the hospital’s main entrance along Freemansburg Avenue at the “Women & Babies” pavilion. Another four stations were slated in the parking lot of the medical office building and cancer center.

Source : lehighvalleylive