Naval Hospital Twentynine Palms (NHTP) just made it easier for its female beneficiaries to get a mammogram.

In August, the NHTP Radiology Department began offering in-house mammography. The installation of the Selenia Dimensions Mammography System significantly improves patient access and eliminates the need to travel outside the system to get this important diagnostic exam.

"Patients can confidently know their breast screening examinations will be stored digitally and can easily be recalled for comparison both at NHTP or at another duty station," said Lt. Cmdr. Christine McDonald, NHTP Radiology Department head.

Prior to adding this in-house service, patients had to travel to Palm Springs for a mammogram -- a 60-mile one-way trip.

"Several patients have already told me they appreciate not having to drive 'down the hill,'" said Mammography Technician Mary Wagner.

Adding mammography to its in-house medical services caps a year of hospital upgrades that include the installation of GE 1.5 Tesla MRI unit; the opening of a new $21 million, 45,000 square feet Medical Home Port for Marines and Sailors; and the seismic-damper hospital retrofit in which 57 seismic dampers were attached to primary support beams to dissipate the kinetic energy from earthquake activity. Earthquakes are listed as the number one environmental hazard for this region.

"Over the last year we have strengthened the facility, added to the facility, and have added new diagnostic and screening capabilities to the command that enables us to better care for our patients now and for generations to come," said NHTP Commanding Officer Capt. John A. Lamberton. "This would not have happened without each staff member making a personal commitment to the delivery of high-quality care."

Naval Hospital Twentynine Palms is located at and supports the Marine Air Ground Combat Center, the Marine Corps' premier live-fire, combined arms training center. This 1,100 square mile installation is only slightly smaller than the state of Rhode Island. More than 50,000 active-duty and Reserve Marines and Sailors, as well as other U.S. and allied forces train at the Combat Center 350 days each year through large-scale exercises and formal schools.

According to the base Community Impact Report, in 2015 there were 11,000 active-duty Marines and Sailors stationed at the combat center. Civilian employees totaled 1,900, with an estimated 400 full-time and part-time contract employees. Annual salary and wages totaled about $500 million. Many retired service members stay in the area or move here because of the proximity to the combat center and the services available to military retirees.

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