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Senate Bill 3127 would amend various laws to include emergency
medical dispatchers in reference to first responders, giving
them the same recognition as police, firefighters and medics.
“Qualifying them, giving them the recognition as first
responders, is pretty important not only for them but it's
important for people to understand that they too are first
responders and they deserve that recognition,” said the bill's
sponsor, state Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Moline.
Anderson is one of those first responders. He is a firefighter
and paramedic in Moline and knows firsthand the difficult work
dispatchers do before his team arrives on scene.
“Dispatchers have to hear those terrible things, and almost
worse,” Anderson said. "I think they have to use their
imagination to fill in what they can’t see and I think mentally
that is probably even worse."
The bill would not only give dispatchers a new title, but also
benefits and access to additional training.
The bill passed in the Senate and now heads to the House, where
state Rep. Dan Swanson, R-Alpha, will carry the bill in that
chamber.
“Dispatchers calm and guide these situations with compassion and
competency,” Swanson said. "We owe them our best efforts to
recover and continue their empathetic service.”
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