So Serban and a colleague offered the students an exercise to use before bedtime called “plan a dream,” in which they would draw a picture of something they love, look at it and then place it under their pillow. Some drew pizza, some drew a birthday cake, but for all, Serban said, “it shifted their focus from the fear to a hopeful image.”
Thanks to Serban's suggestion, many of the students reported sleeping through the night and having happy dreams for the first time since the disaster hit. It's one of the most memorable experiences Serban said he's had while serving with the Disaster Spiritual Care team outside of his Oregon base, which he has done since 1999.
He has been deployed to provide support for victims of both natural and manmade disasters, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005, superstorm Sandy in 2012 and the Boston Marathon bombing earlier this year. He's served on the ground following these events, often at a moment's notice. In 2011, he was appointed director of the team.
Serban, 48, is one of four honorable mentions for Modern Healthcare's 2013 Community Leadership Award. He is also someone whom Dave Underriner, CEO of Providence's Oregon operations, calls “a servant leader.”
“Tim cares deeply about the people within Providence and the people within our communities and how we serve in a way that is meaningful,” Underriner said. And though the service Serban provides in times of crisis doesn't come up as a planned activity, he finds a way to offer it, Underriner said, because it's Serban's passion. “When you have passion, it's an amazing energy generator,” Underriner said.
Sometimes that energy translates into just being present with people following a tragedy, like the time Serban visited the World Trade Center location with a young pregnant woman whose husband was killed in the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. Serban was with her when she made her first trip to the site in the weeks after the attacks.
