David Asch, MD, MBA, was the Executive Director of LDI when the SUMR program was launched in 2000 and he gave it his blessing. More importantly, Asch was simultaneously the founding Director of the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP) at Philadelphia's Crescenz VA Medical Center and that organization has consistently and generously funded part of SUMR's operations in every one of the 20 years since then. SUMR Scholars have often been mentored by CHERP faculty and annually tour the VA facilities to understand the health services research aspects of that national institution.