Wayward hikers who need to be rescued from the eastern slope of the Sierra Mountains might not expect to see a guy like Gary Boyd until the next morning, when they wake up in the hospital.

As the CEO of Southern Mono Healthcare District and Mammoth Hospital in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., Boyd, 59, does come around to greet such patients with an especially hearty grin. But they sometimes smile back because they recognize him from the night before, as one of 35 or 40 active members of the Mono County Sheriff Search and Rescue Team, even though he's no longer coated in trail dust or wearing a headlamp.

Boyd, a finalist for Modern Healthcare's Community Leadership Award, responded to a flier that appeared on the hospital's bulletin board about a recruitment meeting for the team—and after extensive training including CPR, rescue knots and helicopter safety, he started going out on calls in April 2010.

“I was looking for something to do in terms of community service. Something just resonated about it with me,” he says. “I do hiking and other things in the backcountry. With my job at the hospital and helping others, it just seemed like it was a good fit.”

Among the 61 team events and 19 searches and rescues in which he has participated, Boyd has helped rescue an 85-year-old man who fell and hit his head about two miles from Mammoth Lakes, a man who had become separated from his party and fallen into a steep canyon, and a winter hiker in nearby Yosemite National Park who had suffered a mild case of frostbite.

“That's very rewarding to go into the backcountry, find someone who's injured and scared, and not knowing what's going to happen to them, and usually we can get them out within 24 hours and get them to the hospital,” Boyd says.

But sometimes, the rescues don't end well. “This year, for whatever reason, has been a bad year,” he says. “We've had four recoveries—meaning we've had four deaths. It's still rewarding to us to bring the loved ones back to their family and friends and put some closure on the situation.”

The search-and-rescue efforts have had a nice tie-in to Mammoth's mission, says Jack Copeland, past board chair for the hospital. “Short of being an EMT, it's about the only community organization that is related to the hospital and to healthcare,” he says. “Generally speaking, search and rescue is a preliminary step to delivering healthcare to someone who is in need of it, and in trouble.”

Boyd's involvement has changed his outlook on regular exercise and healthy eating, Copeland says. “He, in turn, promoted exercise and wellness more in the community and in the hospital,” he says. “You've got to be fit to climb out into the mountains.”