A California nonprofit organization is bringing Hawaiian monk seals some rare good news.

On Saturday, The Marine Mammal Center will break ground on a hospital for the seals.

The center expects the Big Island facility will have pools in the ground and be ready to accept injured or sick seals in the spring.  The hospital is being built next to Kona International Airport for easy access to planes that will fly in seals from other islands.

The hospital will be able to accommodate up to 10 seals at a time, though will likely have fewer patients.  Even this small number will be a critical help for a species that desperately needs to keep its members alive and breeding.