DANVILLE, Va. — Pregnant women planning to give birth soon may need a backup plan at SOVAH Health in Danville. The hospital announced there would be no pediatric and maternity insurance coverage over the weekend.

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

This means that if someone goes into labor in the next few days, they will have to go to another hospital.

“Locums physicians provide specialty coverage when permanent providers are not available for call coverage, and despite our extensive efforts to provide additional coverage as soon as we were notified of the vacancy, no additional providers were available for this weekend,” SOVAH Health Danville said. in a statement.

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If the expectant mother comes over the weekend, SOVAH said they will evaluate and treat her as best they can. If necessary, they will take them to another hospital for care. This might mean traveling to Lynchburg, Roanoke, or Greensboro to give birth.

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

As of now, this is set for Monday, November 4th at 7am.

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

OBGYN Associates of Danville said in a Facebook post that nurse midwives offered the option of providing newborn care, but the hospital declined.

“We appreciate the offer made by OBGYN Associates, but this option would have care limited to established patients only, excluding patients who refer to other healthcare providers,” SOVAH wrote in a statement. “While female care providers bring valuable expertise, neonatal care has traditionally been provided and supervised by pediatricians to maintain the highest standards of care, and that remains our expectation today. While this is not what any of us wanted, our priority remains the safety and health of our patients.”

Planned inductions have been rescheduled for next week, and SOVAH recommends that all patients experiencing a medical emergency go to the nearest emergency room.