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Lions Haven For The Aged Hope Island CEO Alex Nagy (60) spent a large part of his career working in a corporate hotel senior management role across Asia Pacific.
Arriving back in his native Australia 10 years ago and transitioning into aged care, Alex joined Lions Haven For The Aged in October last year, 10 months after the devastating 2023 Gold Coast Christmas night tornado and just five months before ex-tropical cyclone Alfred wreaked havoc on the Gold Coast.
Here he tells of lessons learned from the tornado and the extensive planning that went into protecting the Lions Haven For The Aged residents and staff from the cyclone and which now has them well prepared for all manner of future extreme weather events.
When Alex Nagy returned to Australia after decades in Asia’s hotel industry, most recently as a senior director for Marriott International across Asia Pacific, he was quickly thrown into the world of disaster planning.
As it happened, the new Lions Haven For The Aged CEO arrived just 10 months after the devastating Gold Coast Christmas tornado of 2023 and five months before ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred struck the region.
“The 2023 Christmas night storm came from the west over the mountain range, and we lost power for several days,” Alex said.
“As sudden and unexpected as it was, it provided the chance to test the systems already in place, and, as these things always go, there were some critical learnings from that night and the days immediately after.”
With 118 residents in care, Lions Haven For The Aged’s top priority is continuity of service from medication to meals and basic comfort.
“Every day of the year, everything revolves around resident welfare,” Alex said.
“That means making sure we can feed people, manage medications, and maintain dignity, safety and wellbeing no matter what.”
Drawing on his hotel management experience amidst plenty of weather events in Asia, Alex brought a proactive approach to risk planning at Lions Haven For The Aged.
“In Thailand, we’d often have several days’ notice of major flooding events, a luxury not afforded on the Gold Coast on Christmas night 2023.
“So, we combined our collective experiences with lessons from the tornado and the knowledge of long-term staff and external partners to build a better plan,” he said.
The Lions Haven For The Aged senior leadership team spent October and November documenting an exhaustive emergency systems checklist without knowing how soon it would be needed.
“Each department contributed; about ten of us sat down and worked through everything we’d need to maintain operations,” Alex said.
The resulting plan covered everything from the obvious – generators, gas, food, water – to the less obvious like 14-day supplies of wound dressings and continence aids, every sort of battery, and in-room activities to keep residents occupied.
Lions Haven For The Aged also made a recent transition to electric beds throughout the property, meaning heavy reliance on fixed and portable generators to raise and lower the beds if power is cut.
And as Cyclone Alfred approached in early March, the team put their plan to the test.
“We were lucky we had advance warning this time around,” Alex said.
“We monitored it inching down the coast, and we made the most of that time by double-checking every item on our list, increasing supplies, and refining rosters.”
He said coordination of staff was a top priority.
“We knew some staff might not be able to get in, or might choose to stay, so we set up sleeping areas, including turning our boardroom and administration offices into temporary accommodation,” he said.
“Two of our senior managers even slept over to provide reassurance and oversight, and luckily we didn’t lose power this time around.”
A key feature of Lions Haven For The Aged’s preparedness is their Disaster Response Manual, created from scratch and maintained in both soft and hardcopy.
“We don’t want to rely on digital in an emergency,” Alex said.
“If power and internet go down, we need to know exactly what to do.”
The manual includes:
Constantly updated hardcopy clinical and non-clinical records for each resident are also kept in a centrally located folder.
“We’ve also packed a canvas bag for every resident with three days’ worth of clothing and essential personal items so if we ever need to evacuate, they’re ready,” Alex said.
The facility’s front and side areas are prone to flooding, although water has never entered the buildings, still, Alex emphasises the need for vigilance.
“We plan for worst-case scenarios; that way, we’re not caught off guard.”
He said during Alfred’s approach, clear and compassionate communication with residents was crucial.
“We taped windows, and our staff filled and placed sandbags,” he said.
“It’s very visible stuff, so I held daily briefings for residents and attending family, explaining what was happening, what we were hearing from council and emergency services, and what it meant for them,” he said.
Family members were also kept informed through emails and phone calls.
“Some sat in on the briefings and I fielded plenty of calls from siblings and enduring powers of attorney, and such,” he said.
With power outages likely, the kitchen team prepared and cryovac’d three days of meals in advance, ready for storage in a fridge and freezer powered by a dedicated generator.
“Some of our cooking is electric, some gas, so we planned for both,” Alex said.
Several staff left their own homes to support the facility during the cyclone.
“That level of dedication was incredible, and it meant we had no staffing issues,” Alex said.
He stressed that good disaster response in aged care settings isn’t just about having a plan, it’s about having the ability to be genuinely self-sufficient 365 days a year.
“Queensland Health and local councils want to see that aged care homes can look after themselves in times of crisis.
“We appreciate that these organisations and our utility suppliers have so much to do in a disaster that we can’t expect them to save us if our crisis planning and systems aren’t up to scratch; providing safe shelter and demonstrating resilience and as much self-sufficiency as possible really are the keys.
“There are many spokes in the wheel during an emergency, and the better prepared we are before disaster strikes, the better the outcomes for everyone, which I think we proved in March,” he said.
Lions Haven for the Aged is a not-for-profit residential aged care facility located at 9 Pendraat Parade, Hope Island.
Lions Haven Not For Profit Residential Aged Care
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