SB3608 - Emergency Medical Dispatchers

• Amends multiple Illinois statutes to explicitly include emergency medical dispatchers in definitions and references to "first responders" across state law.

• Updates the First Responder Mental Health Awareness Day observance to include emergency medical dispatchers alongside firefighters, police officers, and other first responders.

• Adds emergency medical dispatchers to state emergency response planning, suicide prevention initiatives, cannabis health advisory committees, and methamphetamine control provisions.

• Extends emergency medical dispatcher recognition to school safety drills, mental health court programs, and workers' compensation provisions for occupational disease and COVID-19 exposure.

• Ensures emergency medical dispatchers receive the same legal protections, mental health support considerations, and occupational disease benefits as other recognized first responders in Illinois.