A task force charged with finding a way to save Bryan W. Whitfield Memorial Hospital’s labor and delivery unit is starting to come together.

Hospital administrator Mike Marshall and assistant administrator Art Evans will serve on the task force.

Joining them will be physicians Tiffany Ward and Alex Curtis and hospital board members Jim Grantham, Jay Shows and Walter Davis.

Other members will be a Demopolis City Council member, a Marengo County commissioner and one member of the public chosen by the Demopolis Area Chamber of Commerce.

Those appointments have not been announced as of Tuesday afternoon.

The task force was formed Wednesday, Jan. 22 following a hospital board meeting.

During that meeting, the board approved a proposal that would keep labor and delivery open 120 days while the task force works to find a funding solution.

The proposal requires the city of Demopolis or Marengo County Commission to together provide $68,000 in funding by Friday to help cover the cost of keeping labor and delivery open for an additional 60 days.

The task force will be required to submit their ideas to the full hospital board by March 15.

After their suggestions are given, the board will have a second meeting within five days to vote on the proposal. If the board can’t pass a plan to save labor and delivery, then the unit will close by April 8.

The Demopolis City Council and Marengo County Commission have a special meeting set for Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the county courthouse in Linden.