Chaplain Honored for Advancing Palliative Care

John Tastad has spent his career comforting people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives, listening, asking questions and helping them think about what matters most.

The role requires empathy and openness. As Tastad explains, it's about being able to "swing into a patient's space" and meet people wherever they are in their spiritual beliefs.

That approach has earned him the 2026 Doris A. Howell Award for Advancing Palliative Care from the CSU Shiley Haynes Institute for Palliative Care.

As chaplain and coordinator of the Advance Care Planning program at Sharp HealthCare, Tastad helps patients and families navigate complex medical decisions with attention to their values, beliefs and goals. His work places him at the intersection of spiritual care, ethics and medicine, both at the bedside and within healthcare systems across San Diego County.

The award includes a $25,000 gift - funded by The Shiley Foundation and its president Darlene Marcos Shiley - to an organization chosen by the awardee. This year, the gift will support the bereavement department at Sharp HospiceCare.

Beyond his work with patients and their families, Tastad has been a steady presence in the region's palliative care community. He has served on hospital bioethics committees and has been active with local and statewide organizations working to expand access to palliative care and advance care planning through public policy, national speaking engagements and community education.

Tastad was nominated by three leaders in the palliative care field who cited his decades of service, mentorship and leadership. One nominator, Jennifer Moore Ballentine, CEO of the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California, said his philosophy of care reflects a rare blend of humility and presence.

"I can think of no one I would rather have 'swing into my space' to offer company, comfort and care in any grief or trouble or, indeed, at the end of my life," Ballentine said.

Tastad will receive the award during the welcome reception for the 2026 National Symposium for Academic Palliative Care Education and Research on June 4 at the University Student Union on the Cal State San Marcos campus.

The Howell award is named after the late Dr. Doris Howell, a legendary physician and pioneer in pediatric hematology, oncology and community medicine who in 1977 founded San Diego Hospice and the Institute for Palliative Medicine.