Tim Serban, chief mission integration officer for Providence Health & Services' Oregon division in Portland, trained as a disaster spiritual-care provider for the American Red Cross in the aftermath of the TWA Flight 800 crash off the coast of Long Island in 1996.

Among his first disasters, he was called to serve during the worst our nation has seen: Sept. 11, 2001. “That was life-changing,” says Serban, 48, who two years ago became national volunteer chief of the Red Cross' Disaster Spiritual Care team. “We were tasked to help bring all faith traditions to the table to support the needs of those who were lost and those in the midst of the response and recovery effort.”

Serban and his fellow volunteers ensured families' safety and privacy, and they did their best to provide comfort. “We simply were there to help honor the life of their loved one, and to hold them in the midst of that primal grief they experienced,” says Serban, one of 10 finalists of Modern Healthcare's 2013 Community Leadership Award.

The Red Cross team has responded to more than 100 disasters and has more than 500 volunteers. In recent years, they have responded to the Boston Marathon bombing, Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in 2012. When he's not on the ground, Serban is always helping to coordinate the response in his leadership role.

“Tim's work is difficult—his expertise, passion and commitment to community, especially the poor and vulnerable, stands out in my Red Cross experience,” says Chuck Morrison, regional executive director of the American Red Cross Snohomish County (Wash.) Chapter. “His volunteer work is done in the most difficult conditions imaginable: mass casualty, multiple injury scenarios, both natural and manmade.”

“I admire his ability to bring hope and comfort to families, emergency workers, caregivers and communities in difficult times,” adds Dave Underriner, CEO of Providence Health & Services' Oregon operations.

For his part, Serban would prefer never to be called upon again. “We never want to be needed,” he says. “But we're glad (the team) is there when we are needed.”

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Ed Finkel is a freelance writer in Evanston, Ill. Reach him at edfinkel@earthlink.net