Hello supporters! Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been a bit busy with a newborn! I met with Phillip Minden on September 20th. I was told that it was low priority, but that he would "look into more chargers eventually." When I presented him with the EPA guide on utilizing level 1 chargers (regular outlets) he stated that he was "very interested" in the idea and would get back to me. At the time of this update (October 19th) I have yet to hear anything, but I will reach out again in the coming weeks to see what the verdict was. This seems promising; while it will take a lot of time and money to get the faster level 2 chargers installed, utilizing level 1 chargers won't require much if any updates to the existing infrastructure and will provide EV drivers a great way to keep their cars charged while at work. I am grateful that Mr. Minden(who likes to go by Phil) took the time to at least hear us out and entertain the idea, now here's to hoping he actually puts something into action.
To: Philip Minden, CEO of BayCare St. Joseph Hospital Tampa
Increase the amount of EV chargers for visitors and employees at Baycare St. Joseph Hospital Tampa
Currently there are four official EV chargers at St. Joseph Hospital: two are restricted to physicians only in the employee garage, and the remaining two are shared between visitors and staff in the public "orange" garage. There are none available to regular employees. These public chargers are almost always in-use, and it is very difficult for employees and guests alike to charge when needed. EVs are being adopted at a fast rate; simply driving through the parking garage one can typically see at least 4-5 EVs per floor.
Simply put, we need more chargers. EVs sit idly during work hours when they could be charging; some employees travel long distances and must waste time utilizing a fast charger on the way home when they could simply charge their car while they work. Furthermore, we need chargers that are only accessible to employees. More chargers will greatly increase employee happiness for those that drive EVs, and may even increase productivity for those that travel long distances.
The current official chargers available are considered level 2 chargers. These are capable of fully charging most types of EVs in 4-8 hours or a rate of 20-30 miles per hour of charge. This isn't necessary for all drivers; a level 1 charger, also known as a simple wall plug, charges at a rate of about 5 miles per hour. A single shift at work easily can gain someone 40-60 miles of range, which is more than enough for the average worker.
Therefore, the easiest and cheapest solution until more level 2 chargers can be installed would be to give access to the outlets that are already present in the garages. EV drivers can supply their own cordsets to just simply plug into the outlets. There are at least two on each floor of both the public and the employee only garage. Per the U.S. Department of Energy, this is by far the most cost effective method although it is not the most convenient for EV drivers. More on this topic can be reviewed here: Level 1 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations at the Workplace - Department of Energy https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/articles/level-1-electric-vehicle-charging-workplace
The plugs currently in the garages are all GFCI, and have internal breakers that would automatically shut them off if there were any issues. Most modern EVs also have onboard computers that will shut off chargers if there are any faults as well.
Currently there is no policy in place prohibiting employees from utilizing the outlets in the garages; there are some policies preventing "personal devices" from being utilized in "designated staff areas" but this doesn't appear to really apply to a public parking garage. Despite this, security actively tickets any EV drivers utilizing the outlets, and the COO of St. Joseph Hospital has directly threatened employees with termination for utilizing the outlets, despite the lack of any policy against this.
So we call on the leadership of St. Joseph hospital to get with the times, take what steps are necessary to allow EV drivers to utilize the outlets in the garages, and take the next steps to install more level 2 chargers to allow your employees to charge their cars so less drivers are dependent on the outlets in the first place.
Why is this important?
This change will allow EV drivers from long distances to work without worrying about having enough charge to make it home. This will increase employee satisfaction for having charging spots specific to employees available to charge in, and will increase patient and visitor satisfaction as well as there will be far more than two spots to choose from. There will be no more fighting over charging spots when more are installed, first when access is granted to outlets, and especially when more level 2 chargers are installed. Furthermore, this will prevent employees that drive long distances (ie from Orlando) from being stranded or terminated for charging their car.
In addition, this change will essentially future-proof St. Joseph hospital and bring it into the 21st century, and will solidify its position on "being green." All other major hospitals have far more chargers available: Tampa General has about 12 level 2 chargers, Advent Health Orlando and Orlando Health have about 20 each, and even smaller hospitals typically have at least 4. It's crazy to think that the flagship hospital of BayCare Health Systems only has 2 that must be shared between employees and visitors/patients.
