Joseph, Simon and Pita Cokiverata have become the first set of triplets cared for at Mater Hospital Springfield, marking another early milestone for the hospital’s new maternity and neonatal services. The three brothers are receiving care in the Special Care Nursery after arriving eight weeks early.
The triplets were born at Mater Mothers’ Hospital in South Brisbane, where they received around-the-clock care. Four days later, they transferred to Springfield to continue their care closer to home.
Three brothers, one carefully managed routine
Their mother, Salote Cokiverata, learned she was expecting triplets about four or five months into her pregnancy. The news came as a major surprise, and she is now preparing for life with five children.
Her older children, Dasha, 6, and Ezra, 3, are also getting ready for their three younger brothers to come home. In the meantime, Ms Cokiverata has been balancing family responsibilities with visits to the Springfield nursery.
She said the boys were growing stronger each day. She also described bathing them as a particularly happy moment during their hospital stay.
Joseph, the eldest, weighed 1920 grams at birth. Simon weighed 2484 grams, while Pita weighed 2409 grams.
Staff follow a precise routine for the three babies. Nurses coordinate their feeding and daily care while closely managing each child’s needs.
New nursery brings care closer to home
Neonatal Critical Care Nurse Unit Manager Liji Pullookaran said the triplets had brought considerable excitement to the Springfield team. She said the boys were doing well under the nursery’s carefully managed care schedule.
Ms Pullookaran has worked in neonatal nursing for 18 years. She also led the clinical planning and operational preparations for the neonatal service at Mater Hospital Springfield.
The facility includes 16 individual Neonatal Critical Care units. Their design gives families greater privacy while their babies receive specialist care.
The triplets’ admission shows how continued neonatal care can be delivered closer to a family’s community. Their care has also given the new nursery team its first experience managing three premature siblings simultaneously.
Maternity service records 160 births since May
Mater Hospital Springfield has recorded 160 births since maternity services began in May. The hospital expects about 1,700 babies to be born there each year. The Special Care Nursery forms an important part of that service by supporting vulnerable babies and their families.
Although Joseph, Simon and Pita were not born at Springfield, their admission remains an important first for the hospita, as the first set of triplets cared for in its nursery.
Staff have managed each baby’s care while helping Ms Cokiverata take part in everyday moments with her sons. For now, the boys remain together in the nursery as they continue gaining strength.
Brisbane Lions partnership welcomes Springfield-born babies
The hospital has also partnered with the Brisbane Lions to welcome babies born at Mater Hospital Springfield. Under the initiative, every baby born there receives a complimentary Lions membership and supporter pack.
The pack includes a beanie, socks, a rattle and a supporter’s scarf. With about 1,700 births expected each year, the program could add a large new group of young “Lion Cubs” to the club’s membership base.
Brisbane Lions AFLW player Natalie Grider also works at Mater as a student midwife. Her roles connect the football club’s membership initiative with the hospital’s maternity service.
Mater Hospital Springfield General Manager Suzanne Hawksley said the partnership brought together two organisations focused on the health and wellbeing of Queenslanders. She also acknowledged the Lions’ support for the babies expected to be born at Springfield each year.
Published 31-July-2026
