Kahuku Medical Center is searching for a new chief executive officer to replace Stephany Nihipali Vaioleti, who is leaving the North Shore hospital in October to join Hawaii Medical Service Association.

Jerome Flores, chief financial and operating officer, will act as interim CEO, effective Oct. 12.

Vaioleti led the hospital for seven years, helping it move out of bankruptcy and starting an electronic medical records system, the hospital said in a news release. She also helped secure providers and oversee upgrades to the emergency room.

She was director of social services at the 21-bed rural hospital from 1998 to 2006, before becoming chief operating officer and CEO in 2011.

Kahuku Medical Center, founded in 1928, is an affiliate of the Hawaii Health Systems Corp., the quasi-public state hospital system.