U.S. Senator Roger Marshall Visits LiveWell to See Family Support Services Firsthand
February 16, 2026
U.S. Senator Roger Marshall made a stop in Colby on February 16 as part of a broader visit to northwest Kansas, touring LiveWell Northwest Kansas to gain a firsthand look at how the nonprofit serves families across the region.
Marshall, who has been traveling throughout the area meeting with healthcare providers and community leaders, said he wanted to better understand how LiveWell’s programs intersect with rural health, mental health, and family support services.
The visit functioned largely as a question-and-answer session between the senator and LiveWell leadership, including Executive Director Travis Rickford and program staff. After Marshall arrived he was informed about the organization’s work but demonstrated what attendees described as a genuine interest in how the nonprofit connects families to services in a frontier region.
LiveWell began in 2001 as a prevention center focused primarily on substance abuse initiatives. In 2018, the organization rebranded to reflect a broader mission of improving quality of life for families throughout northwest Kansas.
Today, LiveWell operates in four primary areas: behavioral health, home visiting services, early childhood support, and community resource assistance.
Rickford explained that LiveWell serves as a “gap-filling” agency — working closely with partners such as Citizens Health, Northwest Kansas Educational Service Center, Head Start programs, and the Department for Children and Families to ensure families are not left navigating systems alone.
Home visiting services, offered both in person and virtually, connect families with parenting education, developmental screenings, and support services. Staff also provide warm referrals to outside agencies when additional treatment or specialized care is needed.
Marshall noted the importance of breaking down silos in rural healthcare delivery.
“What I do see is silos happening,” he said, praising LiveWell’s efforts to create a more holistic approach to mental health and substance use prevention.
LiveWell currently employs a therapist and is in the process of adding another mental health professional to expand services tied to its Family Resource Center programs.
The organization also operates two licensed daycare facilities under the Kids Port name in Colby, emphasizing early childhood development and structured learning environments. During the visit, Marshall toured one of the daycare classrooms and met staff members and children enrolled in the program.
Beyond direct services, LiveWell participates in research initiatives, including a National Institutes of Health-supported study examining mental health approaches in rural and frontier communities. Leadership described efforts to reduce stigma and connect individuals struggling with substance use and mental health challenges to broader community support systems.
A significant portion of the discussion focused on LiveWell’s Family Resource Center, which provides over-the-counter medications, diapers, wipes, and hygiene items to families without income requirements.
Staff shared that demand for basic commodities has increased in recent years, prompting the organization to expand its supply distribution efforts. The long-term goal is to replicate similar resource displays in additional counties across LiveWell’s service region.
LiveWell also operates an insurance navigation program that assists between 300 and 400 families annually with marketplace enrollment, resulting in some of the highest reinsurance participation rates in northwest Kansas.
Approximately 90 percent of LiveWell’s funding comes from state and federal grants, including the Kansas Early Childhood Block Grant, Department for Children and Families, and Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
During the visit, Marshall referenced federal funding streams designed to support rural health transformation, including what he described as the “Make America Healthy Again” fund — a rural health-focused initiative he helped design.
“This is exactly what I envision for trying to help make America healthy again,” Marshall said, describing LiveWell’s integrated approach as a model for community-based health support.
He encouraged LiveWell leadership to pursue additional partnerships and state-level connections to expand funding access. While in attendance Marshall and his staff offered contacts to help streamline the relationship to ensure that LiveWell received some of the funding.
For LiveWell, the visit served as both recognition and opportunity — recognition of more than two decades of prevention and family-focused work, and opportunity to strengthen partnerships that may bring additional resources to northwest Kansas.
As rural communities continue navigating healthcare shortages, workforce challenges, and economic pressures, LiveWell’s model reflects what Marshall described as a person-centered approach — one that connects mental health, substance use prevention, early childhood development, and basic needs under one roof.
For families across Colby and the surrounding counties, that approach remains grounded in what staff describe as “good old-fashioned help” — meeting people where they are and ensuring support is available when it’s needed most.