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The recent article, "Downcounty hospitals having growing pains," [July 8] failed to acknowledge that Suburban Hospital has given the Huntington Terrace Citizens Association (HTCA) many opportunities for more than a decade to have a voice in regards to the hospital's campus enhancement plan.

As a member of The Community Panel for a Healthy Future — a committee made up of representatives of close to 25 organizations and neighborhood associations in Montgomery County who are concerned about local health-care needs — I can attest to the fact that members of the association were invited, attended meetings of the community panel, and then decided that they no longer wanted to participate in an objective discussion on the future of healthcare services in our community.

However, the HTCA board has been insistent on trying to define how the hospital should operate and what the county's healthcare needs are, rather than listen to the views of the many members of the panel and those professionals who assisted with the enhancement project and have decades of experience in healthcare delivery and planning.

Suburban Hospital's administration has demonstrated leadership and foresight in its responsibility to serve the complex medical needs of the one million people in Montgomery County. We should all be supporting the modernization of its facilities.

Terri Boyd, Rockville

The writer is a member of Community Panel for a Healthy Future.