Durham's Bedlam Vodka distillery makes 100 gallons of hand sanitizer for local hospital

Monday, March 30, 2020
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A warehouse on the WakeMed Raleigh campus is growing with donations. Everything given from the community like gloves, masks and hand sanitizer makes a stop there to get recorded and inspected before going to where it's most needed: the hospital.

Donations are vital and most welcome as healthcare professionals cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. The donations help fill the gaps as medical facilities wait for supply chains to match current demand.



"Almost a daily basis we are sitting down going over spreadsheets to see if we have enough supplies to keep our staff safe and keep our patients safe," says David Kirk the Executive Medical Director for WakeMed Health And Hospitals.

Keeping up is impossible right now without supplemental help.

That's why Durham's Graybeard Distillery stepped up to help. The maker of Bedlam Vodka collaborated with a couple of partners to produce 100 gallons of hand sanitizer. Head Distiller Shane McCurdy said the distillery wanted to help in a safe and effective way.

"The reality is we just all have to be a team right now. Everybody needs to be able to do what they can. This seems like a responsible way for us to give back to a community that has given so much to us."

SEE ALSO: Durham Distillery using alcohol to make free hand sanitizer for local restaurants during coronavirus pandemic

Quality assured and professionally formulated with the help of partners MedPharm and Avazyme, this sanitizer will help clean surfaces and hands. Graybeard is already working on another run.

"We do have demand already. We have several clients in the pipeline. We're going to do this as long as the current supply chain is undergoing the current strain."

SEE ALSO: Anheuser-Busch, Tito's Vodka making hand sanitizer at distilleries to help fight coronavirus pandemic

Kirk and his staff are more than grateful for the generous gift.

"It's hard to know how much it's going to last. Our plan is to use it for a few days, measure and then see how far it takes us before we estimate how much more we might need."
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