North Memorial Health Care President and CEO David W. Cress has been suspended from the hospital system without pay for an indefinite period.

North Memorial's board of trustees made the announcement late Thursday-one day after Cress was arrested in a prostitution bust for which he now faces a misdemeanor prostitution charge.

Loren (“Larry”) Taylor, chairman of the board, has been named interim CEO, effective immediately, according to the announcement. Taylor will also replace Cress as chairman of the board for Maple Grove Hospital.

“This leadership change will ensure that North Memorial's operations, strategic planning, and service to the community are not interrupted,” the announcement said.

Richfield police Lieutenant Jay Henthorne confirmed Thursday that Cress was arrested along with about a dozen other men during a day-long vice operation on Wednesday. Henthorne would not confirm the location of the arrest, saying that doing so could compromise future operations, but the Star Tribune reported that it occurred at a hotel.

No additional details about the circumstances surrounding the arrest are being released because the case is under investigation. But Cress was released from jail Wednesday afternoon after posting $50 bail and is due to appear in court on September 15.

Cress joined North Memorial in 1982 and was named president and CEO in 2005.

His interim successor, Taylor, was appointed to North Memorial's board of trustees in 1997 and has served as chairman since 2000. Robert Potts, the board's vice chair, will replace Taylor as chairman.

The flagship hospital of Robbinsdale-based North Memorial Health Care, which employs more than 5,000, is North Memorial Medical Center. It is the seventh-largest hospital in Minnesota based on its number of available beds.