Acquisitions and Divestitures (Divestitures Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012 item	Feb. 28, 2011 Williamette Community Medical Group [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 SouthCrest Hospital and Claremore Regional Hospital and Other Related Facilities [Member]	Oct. 31, 2011 Cleveland Regional Medical Center and Other Related Healthcare Assets [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Disposal Date			Feb. 01, 2011	Sep. 01, 2011	Oct. 22, 2011
Proceeds from disposition of hospitals and other ancillary operations	$ 173,387,000		$ 14,600,000	$ 154,200,000	$ 900,000
Assets of Disposal Group, Including Discontinued Operation			$ 19,700,000	$ 193,000,000	$ 14,200,000
Number of hospitals classified as held for sale		0