The UMass Chan Medical School has campuses located in Worcester, is one of five campuses of the University of Massachusetts. It’s an industry leader in innovation within education, research, healthcare delivery, and public service. UMass Chan is continually looking for ways to grow and expand science and clinical research while improving its environmental impact.
One of the Medical School’s goals is to be proactive about electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. In 2014, UMass Chan installed its first EV charging station and now supports 76 Level 2 charging ports. Forty of these ports are dedicated to employee use, while 36 are for patient-visitor charging. UMass Chan is also passionate about making sure EV charging is accessible to all and provides charging in all of its garages. With over 100 employees on campus who drive electric, UMass Chan hopes to incentivize even more employees to make the switch.
“Electric vehicles are a great way for the transportation industry as a whole to leverage the greening of the grid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are traditionally associated with internal combustion engines. As I know from our ride-and-drives, and as an EV driver myself, not only can EVs help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but they are also fun to drive.”
– Suzanne Wood
Associate Director of Sustainability and Campus Services, UMass Chan.
Last year, UMass Chan purchased four Plug-In Electric Hybrid (PHEV) fleet vehicles; one Chrysler Pacifica and three Ford Escapes. The vehicles are used for Chancellor and conference transportation, the transportation receiving and distribution center, and the on-site maintenance team.
Looking forward, UMass Chan looks to purchase more EVs to implement into their fleet and secure more grants from National Grid in order to expand EV charging capacity.
“We’re proud to be part of Recharge Massachusetts, an organization that pushes us towards future EV adoption.
It’s great to have support and assistance as we look to advance our charging infrastructure as well as to adopt additional fleet vehicles and grounds equipment.”
– Suzanne Wood
Associate Director of Sustainability and Campus Services, UMass Chan.
