Patient and family support is an honorable field within nonprofits; it is very often associated with ideas of hospitals and care facilities and not very commonly thought about in a business sense. This is understandable as the goals and aspirations of these organizations have a more anthropological concentration than most. Despite this, however, these organizations are businesses. It can be very interesting to see how they measure success and what measures hold the most value to both those in and outside of the organization.

           In many organizations across this field, feedback from patients and family members plays a large part in managements’ ability to identify and address problems within the company. However, this can be difficult as often feedback does not conform to an exact science. Thus, it is up to the organization and its stakeholders to take whatever data they can to help evaluate their performance and maintain consistent ‘care’ for their patients.

           In turn, it is through this investigation that I attempt to better understand how organizations operating within this field use combinations of qualitative and quantitative data/information to evaluate their services’ performance. As I research this, I also take a more in-depth look at one of the ‘industry leaders’, The Make-a-Wish Foundation, with the hope of being able to identify the effectiveness of such practices.