Adding another twist to the rapid series of events around the sudden ouster of Martha’s Vineyard Hospital chief executive officer and president Joe Woodin, the two leading members of hospital board of trustees confirmed Wednesday that an emergency meeting had been called earlier in the day where a formal vote was taken to terminate Mr. Woodin.

The vote was after the fact — Mr. Woodin was ousted Monday morning after just 13 months on the job, sparking an outcry in the Vineyard community.

Speaking together to the Gazette by phone Wednesday afternoon, hospital board chairman Timothy Sweet and vice chairman Edward Miller said all but one of board’s 15 trustees participated in the meeting. The vote was nearly unanimous, they said, with one dissenting party that they did not name.

And for the first time since Monday, the two board leaders spoke in guarded terms about the specific reasons for the ouster, repeatedly citing confidentiality concerns but describing a growing rift between the CEO and the board. “Joe had lost the confidence of the board,” Mr. Sweet said. “And that was a culmination of multiple reasons. What I need to be clear about —and for Joe’s sake — is that there was no malfeasance . . . there is no dark secret. Joe was professional and honorable and I want to leave it there.” He continued:

“Losing the confidence of the board is something you can’t get back. It really is a matter of trusted judgment. We were starting to go in different directions about what we thought was right for the future. In essence it was about how the hospital should govern itself. To his credit Joe took issues and ran with it. But there may have been a difference of opinion about where ultimate authority lies . . . It got more difficult about where final decisions should rest.”

Mr. Miller added: “Not in terms of the board micromanaging in any way, but in terms of where the final decision lay.”

Mr. Sweet also said Mr. Woodin had recently asked for a raise, which triggered an internal review.

“And out of that process concerns arose,” he said.

The board chairman also took responsibility for public confusion over how the announcement about Mr. Woodin’s departure was handled. A press release issued Monday by hospital leaders said only that Mr. Woodin was stepping down. Reached by phone that day, Mr. Sweet declined further comment and would not say whether there had been a board vote. But Mr. Woodin said bluntly that he had been asked by Mr. Sweet to resign, and had refused. He told the Gazette he had been summarily fired without warning or reason, characterizing it as a power play by the board chairman.

“I’m being tossed. I’m not resigning,” Mr. Woodin said.

On Wednesday Mr. Sweet and Mr. Miller sought to clarify the sequence of events. “Stepping down was a nuance,” Mr. Sweet said, referring to the language in the press release. Mr. Miller agreed. “The word stepping down . . . we used that term because it could mean anything . . . but the more it got out it became impossible,” he said.

“What happened was a very messy fallout and we feel heartsick about it,” Mr. Sweet said.

He continued:

“The error is ours — it never occurred to us that he wouldn’t take the opportunity to do what is best — that’s why there were mixed messages and for that we apologize.”

Mr. Sweet said there had not been a formal vote of the trustees taken before the action was taken on Monday. “It was a board decision, board members had been polled, there was not a formal vote . . . . to give Joe a chance to step down. When things went differently . . . we had to have a confirmatory vote to terminate him.”

In a statement issued Wednesday, Mr. Sweet called the decision difficult but also made it clear that the ultimate responsibility for the hospital rests with the board. “Ensuring the ongoing strength and viability of Martha’s Vineyard Hospital is a responsibility entrusted to the board of trustees,” he wrote. “Every one of us takes this obligation to heart. We remain committed to making sure that this hospital is the best it can be now and into the future. Making difficult — sometimes unpopular — decisions is part of the role we have accepted.”

Meanwhile, the two board leaders confirmed that former CEO Tim Walsh has already come out of retirement to step in as interim CEO at the hospital. And a search will begin for a new president and chief executive officer at the Island’s only hospital.

“We are in the process of forming a search committee today as quickly as possible,” Mr. Sweet said.

There are 15 trustees on the hospital board, including Mr. Sweet, Mr. Miller, Mr. Woodin and Dr. Pieter Pil, the chief medical officer. The board also includes the general counsel for Partners Health Care, Brent L. Henry. Other members are:

Earle A. Ray, (treasurer), Mary R. Brown, (secretary), Debra A. Burke, Susan C. Crampton, Dr. Michael R. Jaff, A. Anthony James, Ronald H. Rappaport, John H. Schaefer, Warren J. Spector, and Walter S. Teller.

Mr. Sweet said all but Dr. Jaffe, president of Newton-Wellesley Hospital, participated in the meeting Wednesday.