PONTIAC - The state authorities may have approved the sale of Livingston Manor to Good Samaritan Home in Flanagan, but work still remains before the deal is completed.

Earlier in the week, the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board approved the sale of the home.

Livingston County Board Chairman Bill Fairfield said the approval of the sale completes a big step toward the goal of transferring the county-run home to private hands.

State inspections of the county's 122-bed facility built in the 1960s will be conducted within the next two months. Those inspections will provide the state some insight into the facility.

At the end of the year, Good Samaritan will go to the state health facilities review board again, this time seeking a certificate of need to build a new home.

As part of the sale agreement, Livingston County will pay roughly $83,000 a month for two years to help Good Samaritan build its new home.

For years, the County Board has struggled with what to do with its antiquated facility south of Pontiac on Old U.S. 66. The nursing home was built with smaller rooms and shared bathroom facilities.

The new home also would be a 122-bed facility, Good Samaritan officials said previously.