A device that improves the sight of people with visual impairments will soon be made available to veterans nationwide, and Aurora-based Marathon Medical will be responsible for distributing it.
Marathon Medical, a 20-year-old medical supply distribution company, entered into a partnership this month with eSight, a health tech company based in Toronto, Canada. As eSight receives orders for its glasses, Marathon Medical will distribute them to Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. The VA health care system comprises 171 medical centers and 1,113 clinics.
Marathon Medical's designation as a certified service-disabled, veteran-owned small business, or SDVOSB, streamlines the purchasing and contract process for eSight. Companies with that designation are given higher priority as VA contractors.
"What we do for companies like eSight is offer them immediate access to [the VA health system] in the simplest of ways because we are a registered vendor with every VA hospital — every government hospital, for that matter," said Jon Landis, chief operating officer of Marathon Medical. "They don't have to go through that delay and the work to be registered."
eSight's assistive eyewear includes a high-speed, high-definition camera that captures whatever the wearer is looking at. eSight's algorithms optimize and enhance the footage, which is presented to the wearer in real time on two screens close to their eyes.
The device helps people suffering from 20 vision impairments, such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and Stargardt disease. eSight is registered with the Food and Drug Administration as a Class I medical device. Devices designated as Class I mean they present minimal potential harm to users, according to the FDA.
According to the VA's Office of Blind Rehabilitation Services, an estimated 130,000 veterans in the United States are legally blind, and more than one million veterans have vision impairments that are severe enough to hamper their abilities to perform daily tasks.
"It really is a game-changing technology," Landis said. "That's why we're so excited about being able to help them get it to the market as fast as possible."
Marathon Medical was founded in 2002 by John St. Leger, a Vietnam War-era veteran. The company's corporate offices and warehouse facility are located in Aurora, and it operates another warehouse in Tampa, Florida.
Congress mandated in 2006 that service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses receive priority for VA contracts, as long as the companies offer a fair and reasonable price. In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the law must be applied to all competitive contract awards.
"That created an opportunity for Marathon Medical in 2006, as well as in 2016," Landis said. "We have grown a significant amount as a medical products distribution company because of that, and amongst other things."
The distribution company strictly works with government hospital systems, including the VA, as well as the Defense Department, the Bureau of Prisons and Indian Health Services.
In 2020, Marathon Medical was one of three companies hired by the federal government to ship syringes and needles in preparation for the release of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar visited the company in July of 2020, when Marathon Medical was stockpiling syringes in needles to get ready for a mass-vaccination program.
"That's kind of a feather in our cap," Landis said. "It speaks to our legitimacy and longevity in the marketplace."
