The UW Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH) is celebrating the continued impact of three individuals whose honors highlight the department’s strong commitment to humanistic, patient‑centered care. Medical student Amelia Baltes and faculty members Jonathan Takahashi, MD, MPH, and Patricia Téllez‑Giron Salazar, MD, were inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS). Téllez‑Giron Salazar also received the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, recognizing her decades of service and leadership.
Amelia Baltes
Each year, the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, through GHHS, recognizes rising fourth‑year medical students who are nominated and elected by their peers for demonstrating compassion, integrity, respect, and service in medicine. Following their induction, these student members then select two faculty physicians and one resident to join them.
Baltes describes humanism in medicine as treating patients as whole people and ensuring that empathy, kindness, and respect guide every interaction. “Humanism should be incorporated into every patient encounter,” she says. “It means recognizing the full person in front of you and keeping their well‑being at the center of every decision.”
Her understanding of humanism was shaped early in her training. During her Inpatient Acting Internship with the hospitalist team, she cared for a patient with a complex illness, visiting several times each day and becoming a trusted, reassuring presence for the patient and family. The patient often shared how meaningful it was to see a familiar face—someone who could explain complicated information, listen, and simply be there. “Humanism was at the root of that encounter,” Baltes reflects. “I was able to empathize with her, support her family, and treat her as a whole person.”
Baltes first connected with DFMCH in 2016 through Rural and Urban Scholars in Community Health , where she worked with Dr. Randy Brown in what would become the Program for Research, Outreach, Therapeutics, and Education in the Addictions (PROTEA) Lab. His mentorship shaped her MPH studies, her work as a research coordinator, and her ongoing involvement in addiction medicine research. These experiences have given her confidence in navigating difficult conversations and a strong sense of empathy for patients living with substance use disorders—skills she now brings into every clinical setting.
While Baltes represents the next generation of humanistic physicians, the faculty honored alongside her show how these values evolve over the course of a career.
Dr. Jonathan Takahashi
Takahashi brings a global and integrative perspective to his work. After earning a chemistry degree from Carleton College, he spent a year teaching on the island of Kaben in the Marshall Islands, where he saw firsthand the effects of limited access to health care. The experience led him to pursue medicine and public health at Harvard, where he also evaluated a mind‑body health promotion program for older adults. His personal practice of yoga and meditation informs his interest in integrating mind‑body techniques with Western medicine to support patients with chronic illness and promote community well‑being.
After completing his family medicine residency at UW in 2015 and an academic integrative medicine fellowship, Takahashi has continued to champion holistic, preventive care. “I feel grateful and honored that the medical students selected me for induction into the GHHS this year,” he says. “Connecting with and caring for our patients—especially those who are most vulnerable—and supporting each person with understanding, compassion, and respect is a fundamental value that guides my practice of medicine. It means so much to me that this resonates with the students who I have had the privilege of teaching, as they will be the next generation of physicians, offering care and compassion to those who will be entrusted to their care.”
Dr. Patricia Téllez Giron Salazar
Téllez‑Giron Salazar has dedicated her career to serving Madison’s Latino/a community. Raised in Mexico City and trained at the National University of Mexico, she moved to the United States in 1993 and completed her family medicine residency at UW. Now an associate professor, she practices at the Wingra Clinic, where more than 90 percent of her patients speak only Spanish. “Being inducted into GHHS and receiving the Leonard Tow Award is a tribute to the mentors who guided me and the community that keeps me grounded,” she says. “These awards represent my commitment to not only providing compassionate care but also to mentoring the next generation and advocating for the health of the community we serve. It is a reminder that the best medicine is practiced with a servant’s heart.”
Her leadership extends far beyond the clinic. As chair of the Latino Health Council, she has led major community efforts, including the Latino Health Fair, Latino Chronic Disease Summit, Latino Mental Health Summit, and Latino Teen Health Bash. She also hosts a monthly Spanish‑language health education radio program. Her advocacy has earned numerous honors over the years, including the UW Outstanding Women of Color Award, the AIDS Network Executive Director’s Award, and the City‑County Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award.
Together, Baltes, Takahashi, and Téllez‑Giron Salazar represent the breadth of humanism within DFMCH—from compassionate bedside care to community advocacy to integrative approaches that honor the whole person. Their recognitions underscore a shared commitment to the values at the heart of family medicine and continue to inspire colleagues, learners, and patients across the department.
Published: February 2026