HALIFAX - A donation from Sidney Crosby has helped Nova Scotia's largest children's hospital expand and renovate a lounge used by teen patients.
The hockey superstar dropped by the lounge Wednesday at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax. He spent two hours talking to young patients and staff during the low-key event.
"It was a really special day for the kids," Brad Jacobs, vice-president of development for the IWK Foundation, said Thursday.
Jacobs said the lounge was improved after children submitted ideas to make it more fun and comfortable.
"The whole idea behind the lounge is to give kids a chance to escape from the reason they are in-patients at the IWK ... and do things that kids normally do when they're home," he said.
"When you walk into the room, you don't feel like you're in a hospital."
The room includes a pool table, air hockey table, big-screen TV, video games, a reading nook, a kitchen -- and a framed, autographed hockey jersey from Crosby.
The Pittsburgh Penguins centre grew up in nearby Cole Harbour, N.S.
Crosby has been to the hospital before. He carried the Stanley Cup from room to room after the Penguins won it in 2009.
