San Marcos

A San Marcos firm that provides health care services for migrants and the poor in several North County cities will receive a federal grant of $1.5 million next month, an official in the agency said Monday.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has agreed to provide the money to North County Health Services, a private nonprofit corporation with clinics in Ramona, San Marcos, Oceanside and Encinitas, said Susan Westlund, an NCHS director. The firm is funded largely by federal and state grants.

“The money allows us to give our clients a sliding-scale discount off the cost of health care,” Westlund said.

Part of a three-year commitment by the federal agency, the grant is to be used by NCHS during 1991, she said. Much of the money is used to offer health care to migrant workers and others who could not otherwise afford medical attention.

NCHS sees an average of 4,000 to 5,000 patients per month, Westlund said.