DANVILLE, Virginia — Pregnant women planning to give birth soon at SOVAH Health in Danville may need a backup plan. The hospital announced that it would not provide pediatric and delivery coverage over the weekend.

SOVAH Danville said this comes after an unexpected medical emergency affecting one of its temporary providers.

This means that if a person gives birth in the next few days, they will have to go to another hospital.

“Locum tenens physicians provide specialty coverage when permanent providers are not available for on-call coverage, and despite our diligent efforts to obtain additional coverage as soon as we were informed of the discrepancy, there was no other provider available for this weekend,” SOVAH Health Danville said. in a statement.

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If a pregnant woman comes to her home over the weekend, SOVAH said she will evaluate and treat her as much as possible. If necessary, they will take them to another hospital for treatment. This could mean traveling to Lynchburg, Roanoke or Greensboro to give birth.

“SOVAH Health is coordinating closely with local healthcare providers and emergency services to minimize disruptions, and we are working diligently to resume normal services as quickly and efficiently as possible,” the hospital told ABC13 .

For now, it’s scheduled for Monday, November 4 at 7 a.m.

“We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate the community’s understanding and support as we work through this situation,” they added.

OBGYN Associates of Danville said in a Facebook post that they offered the opportunity for their nurse midwives to provide care to newborns – but the hospital declined.

“We appreciate the offer made by OBGYN Associates, however, this option would limit care to their established patients only, excluding patients who see other health care providers,” SOVAH wrote in a statement. “While women’s healthcare providers bring valuable expertise, newborn care has traditionally been provided and supervised by pediatricians to maintain the highest standards of care, and this remains our expectation today. Although This situation is not what any of us wanted, our priority remains the safety and well-being of our patients.”

Scheduled inductions have been postponed until next week and SOVAH urges any patient experiencing a medical emergency to go to the nearest emergency room.