Prepare now for pandemic readiness security and patient surge.

This article, reprinted from the IAHSS newsletter Directions (Volume 20, Number 1, Fall 2006), addressed itself to concerns about the H5N1 Avian Flu. While the worst case predictions should a pandemic strike this country have not yet materialized with the H1NI Swine Flu, the threat of an H1N1 pandemic this fall or at a future date in a more virulent form, or that of another currently unknown viral threat, makes the author's recommendations, especially those concerning the role of healthcare security, timely and well worth considering.