IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Hospital workers tickle kids' funny bones on 'Tutu Tuesdays'

Laughter is the best medicine, so to lift their young patients' spirits, employees at a Florida hospital dress up in colorful tutus on "Tutu Tuesdays."
/ Source: TODAY

They say laughter is the best medicine. Now the employees of a Florida children's hospital are taking that prescription seriously (but not too seriously).

A request by a nervous young patient headed to surgery over the summer has become the inspiration for "Tutu Tuesdays" at a Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, Florida. Once a week, the staff all wear tutus to work to put smiles on the faces of children and help put their fears at ease in the hospital environment.

Even Nutmeg, the hospital's resident therapy dog, wears a special pink tutu, and hospital administrators wear them over their suits.

The idea came when operating room assistant Tony Smith wore a multicolored tutu over his scrubs in a pre-op ward at the behest of a young patient. Once the other employees saw Smith's outfit, a tradition was born.

Now even the valets outside the hospital wear tutus on Tuesdays as they park cars.

"It's for the patients,'' Smith told NBC Miami. "Just seeing you in a tutu brightens their day, and it can keep them from thinking about what's really going on.''

Follow TODAY.com writer Scott Stump on Twitter and Google+.