Peninsula Regional Medical Center has received a 5-star rating by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, making it one of only four in Maryland that received the classification.

“It proves we are at the top of hospitals providing care for Medicare beneficiaries,” Charles “C.B.” Silvia told the Salisbury Independent this week.

Silvia, a physician, is chief medical officer and vice president of medical affairs at PRMC, and proud of the rating that puts the hospital in the highest 9 percent of all hospitals in the country.

Of the 4,805 hospitals in America that participate in Medicare, 337 received five stars.

“It’s a big deal. We are one of only four in the state of Maryland that got it, hospitals that are all about our size. In Delaware, the only hospital that got five stars is Christiana,” Silvia said.

“This is measured over a number of years by data the government has. There are multiple things they look at and average into the score,” he said.

“The government feels we are at the top of hospitals providing care for Medicare beneficiaries. It’s a confirmation that we provide good care. Maryland hospitals were not in the measurement until just recently because of our reimbursement system with CMS but we are now, just like the rest of the hospitals in the country,” he explained.

The award, Silvia explained, is “saying the hospital is good period, but it’s data they have compiled from many different things.”

“It’s a team sport. It’s everybody in our institution who is part of this award. We can’t do it without everybody. This is nice to hear, but we’re always trying to get better. We’re not done yet. It’s good for the community to see the asset that we have here but we always want to do better,” he said.

Although he wouldn’t release details yet, Silvia said PRMC has a national award coming that will place it in the top 5 percent of hospitals nationwide.