Chester County Commissioners Michelle Kichline, Josh Maxwell and Marian Moskowitz help to bottle 825 gallons of hand sanitizer donated to Chester County’s Department of Emergency Services for use by COVID-19 frontline workers.
SOUTH COATESVILLE — Chester County’s Department of Emergency Services took delivery this week of three 275-gallon containers of specially made hand sanitizer, and quickly proceeded to bottle, label and begin distributing the solution to the County’s healthcare, first responder and long term care facility workers.
Thanks to the generosity of Eight Oaks Farm Distillery and Wawa, staff at Chester County’s Public Safety Training Campus bottled 1,650 half-gallon containers of hand sanitizer – a commodity that, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been in very high demand.
The three Chester County Commissioners turned their hand to bottling, capping and labeling the hand sanitizer and paid tribute to Eight Oaks Farm Distillery and Wawa for their donations.
“If you had told me a few months ago that Chester County would welcome a delivery from a regional distillery, I never would have believed it,” said Chester County Commissioners’ Chair Marian Moskowitz. “But we are very grateful – not just for this hand sanitizer delivery, but also for the creativity and good intent by the folks from Eight Oaks that came with the delivery.”
Since word spread about this latest PPE shipment, requests for the hand sanitizer have been coming in from hospitals, long term care facilities and the first responder community.
“In Chester County, where there is a need, there is always someone, some organization, some group that steps up to meet that need,” Commissioner Josh Maxwell said. “This is a perfect example of two companies using their resources to help our community at a time when it is needed the most, and for that we thank them.”
Officials with Chester County’s Department of Emergency Services have been working alongside the County’s Health Department to prepare for the impact of the coronavirus long before the first COVID-19 case was recorded in Chester County.
“Our county’s emergency preparedness program is such that the network of contacts within the first responder, health care and congregate care sectors has been long-established, and the procedures for distributing much needed supplies have been tried and tested,” said Commissioner Michelle Kichline. “When we receive products such as the hand sanitizer – and masks, and gloves, and other personal protection equipment – you can guarantee that those goods are making their way to our frontline COVID-19 workers as quickly as they come in.”
