Elizabeth Borer and Eric Seabloom were so worried about the H1N1 virus that they were willing to stand in line for hours to get their two young children vaccinated - twice.

Along with hundreds of other area residents, the couple descended on the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis on Oct. 29 for a little-publicized flu clinic. But they were turned away when the vaccine ran out.

"It was madness out there," Borer said.

On Friday they tried again, and this time they were taking no chances. The family arrived a full hour early for a clinic at Lincoln School. The extra effort paid off when 5-year-old Liam and his little sister, Marjorie, 2, both got doses of flu mist.

Around 1,000 people were in line behind them, even though the Benton County Health Department only had 600 doses of vaccine.

While the new flu strain has been less deadly than some had expected, it has also been stubbornly persistent, and nationwide vaccine shortages have left many people on edge.

"The problem with this flu," said Marisabel Gouverneur, the department's public health program manager, "is it's not going away."

That's the bad news. The good news, say local emergency planners, is that if worse comes to worst, they'll be prepared.

"Pandemic planning has been going on for a decade here," said Mary King, Benton County's emergency services program manager. "I feel like we're ready."

Preparations include a network of buildings that could be used as emergency health care centers to handle a massive flu outbreak or any other disaster that results in large numbers of casualties.

"What we want is things like running water, heat, kitchen facilities and restrooms," King said. "All disasters are dynamic, and we have to be flexible."

Cases of H1N1 - also known as swine flu - started cropping up around the country in April, much earlier than the normal time for seasonal flu. Since then, nearly 27,000 people nationwide have been hospitalized with flu-like illnesses and more than 1,200 have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Oregon, just over 1,000 people have been hospitalized and 38 have died. Twenty-six people have been admitted to the hospital in the mid-valley - 13 each in Benton and Linn counties - with no deaths so far.

Testing indicates the vast majority of those cases are H1N1 rather than seasonal flu, and late last month the president declared a national emergency to give hospitals more flexibility to respond to the virus.

Mid-valley hospital operator Samaritan Health Services has been ramping up its disaster preparedness efforts for years, said president and CEO Larry Mullins, ever since the bird flu outbreak in Southeast Asia sent a scare around the world.

Since the H1N1 virus showed up in Oregon this spring, Samaritan has been on high alert. Restrictions on visitors and other measures to limit the spread of infection have already been implemented at area hospitals.

They've also stocked up on critical supplies such as surgical masks and gowns, sterile gloves, antiseptics, and antiviral and antibacterial medications, Mullins said. In the event of a major outbreak, extra medical staff could be called in to care for patients.

"Our people are pretty well positioned (and) our supplies are ready to get through a pandemic event," Mullins said.

And if Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center proves too small to handle a flood of casualties, a plan is in place to reopen the Heart of the Valley Rehabilitation Center. The nursing home at 2750 N.W. Harrison Ave. closed down this summer, but in recent weeks Samaritan maintenance workers have been cleaning up the old building and prepping it for possible service as an emergency treatment or recovery center in the event of a massive eruption of flu.

"Right now that's our designated alternative care site in case we get in a situation where we run out of beds," Mullins said.

"The newest wing to the facility is still pretty viable, so one of the things we've done as part of our pandemic planning is to get the (physical) plant back up."

Parts of the 80,000-square-foot building date to the 1920s, when it was the home of Corvallis General Hospital, and are in poor shape. But the 10,000-square-foot east wing remains serviceable and is still outfitted with hospital beds and other equipment for treating patients.

"We could probably have an additional 50 beds in there," Mullins said. "There's other ways we could add capacity, with stretchers in the hallways and things like that."

Charlie Fautin, deputy director of the Benton County Health Department, said having the Heart of the Valley building available gives the county additional options.

"It could be a convalescent center," he said. "It could be a pediatrics center if a lot of kids are getting sick."

Schools, churches and other buildings could also be called into service if need be, Fautin said.

"The plans are intentionally flexible and scalable," he said.

While he has confidence in the county's preparedness measures, he is concerned that the number of sick people could spike sharply as the traditional flu season kicks in over the next several months. Even with a robust emergency plan in place, that could put a major strain on the county's resources.

"There's a lot of worry as we get deeper into flu season," Fautin said. "For whatever reason, flu viruses like the deep, dark winter months. It's still early in flu season. We're not out of the woods yet."

Bennett Hall can be reached at 758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net.