They might be missing flippers, need amputations or be covered in oil, but it's not too late for some sea turtles who might soon move far from their homes on the Gulf Coast to become Pittsburgh's newest patients.

The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium's Sea Turtle Second Chance program is vying for $25,000 from the Pepsi Refresh Project, which is giving away $1.3 million in August to fund ideas to help Gulf communities through the "Do Good for the Gulf" program. With the money, the zoo would be able to expand its facilities to accept and take care of sea turtles that need long-term care.

Rehabilitation centers along the Gulf Coast are running out of space to house injured and sick sea turtles because of the influx from the oil spill. Facilities in the Gulf would most likely keep oil-covered sea turtles that are in critical condition while the zoo would receive those needing longer-term care.

Those turtles are in need of "tender loving care," said Josianne Romasco, keeper aquarist at the Pittsburgh Zoo. They could have suffered boat injuries, need medications or be lethargic, she said.

At the zoo, they would be part of a functioning rehabilitation facility, complete with life-support systems and everyday care.

The Sea Turtle Second Chance program began about a year ago and since has worked to rehabilitate and care for turtles and hatchlings who might not make it without the program. The money from the Pepsi Refresh Project would be used for tank supplies, food for the turtles, to transport the turtles to Pittsburgh, and for education materials so Pittsburghers could learn about sea turtles in the Gulf and their struggles to survive.

The zoo's "Do Good for the Gulf" idea is called "Give injured Gulf Coast sea turtles a place to get well at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium." It is one of many receiving votes online for the $25,000 and was in first place as of Sunday afternoon. Voting will continue until the end of August and the funded ideas will be announced Sept. 22.

Ginger Takle, associate veterinarian at the Pittsburgh Zoo, recently was in Louisiana at an aquatic center to help care for sea turtles directly impacted by the oil spill. Most were visibly covered with oil, on their eyes, mouths and noses, she said.

"There's a huge need to help these animals out there," Dr. Takle said. "It's important for the public of Pittsburgh to know that their zoo is trying to make a difference."

With the funding, zoo visitors would have an opportunity to look through glass windows at the rehab facility to see the sea turtle patients, whose health would be assessed on a daily basis, said Dwayne Biggs, curator of aquatic life at the zoo and aquarium.

"Sea turtles are really having a hard time," he said. "It's this type of rehab and this type of care that's giving them that extra edge so that we have sea turtles for folks to enjoy in the future."

Inland institutions like the Pittsburgh Zoo are poised to help, no matter how far they are from the animals' natural habitats, because a "perfect situation," with a completely healthy population of sea turtles, will most likely never exist, Ms. Romasco said.

"There will never be a shortage of sea turtles needing our help," she said.

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