Dispositions (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended					1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013		Sep. 30, 2013		Jun. 30, 2013		Mar. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012		Sep. 30, 2012		Jun. 30, 2012		Mar. 31, 2012		Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2013 Triple Net Leased Properties Skilled Nursing Facilities property	Dec. 31, 2013 Triple Net Leased Properties Seniors Housing Communities property	Jun. 30, 2012 Senior Living Operations Seniors Housing Communities property	Dec. 31, 2013 MOB Operations Medical Office Buildings property	Dec. 31, 2013 2013 Dispositions Triple Net Leased Properties	Dec. 31, 2013 2013 Dispositions Triple Net Leased Properties Skilled Nursing Facilities property	Dec. 31, 2013 2013 Dispositions Triple Net Leased Properties Seniors Housing Communities property	Dec. 31, 2013 2013 Dispositions Senior Living Operations Seniors Housing Communities property	Dec. 31, 2013 2013 Dispositions MOB Operations Medical Office Buildings property	Dec. 31, 2012 2012 Dispositions Triple Net Leased Properties	Dec. 31, 2012 2012 Dispositions Triple Net Leased Properties Skilled Nursing Facilities property	Dec. 31, 2012 2012 Dispositions Triple Net Leased Properties Seniors Housing Communities property	Dec. 31, 2012 2012 Dispositions Medical Office Buildings property	Dec. 31, 2011 2011 Dispositions	Dec. 31, 2011 2011 Dispositions Skilled Nursing Facilities property	Dec. 31, 2011 2011 Dispositions Seniors Housing Communities property
Results of operations for all assets held-for-sale or disposed
Number of real estate properties sold																									12	7	1	2		2	36	5		2	2
Number of Real Estate Properties Sold, Tenant Purchase Option																															10
Proceeds from sale of real estate properties including termination fees																								$ 31,700,000			$ 1,600,000	$ 1,800,000.0	$ 318,900,000			$ 27,200,000	$ 20,600,000
Disposition of assets, termination fees																								300,000					5,000,000
Gain from sale of assets																								4,500,000			0	500,000.0	81,000,000			4,500,000
Number of real estate properties sold, properties held in escrow																															21
Proceeds from disposition of assets, exchanged in escrow account																															134,500,000
Operating leases not renewed																						2
Properties classified as held for sale																				7	8		4
Assets Held-for-sale, Long Lived	155,300,000								111,600,000								155,300,000	111,600,000
Liabilities of Assets Held-for-sale	64,500,000								69,100,000								64,500,000	69,100,000
Impairment of assets to be disposed of																	39,700,000	13,900,000	0
Revenues:
Rental income																	15,459,000	36,722,000	35,849,000
Resident fees and services																	759,000	6,435,000	7,508,000
Interest and other income																	0	5,052,000	1,000
Total Revenues																	16,218,000	48,209,000	43,358,000
Expenses:
Interest																	5,897,000	13,755,000	18,253,000
Depreciation and amortization																	47,922,000	50,269,000	15,511,000
Property-level operating expenses																	1,994,000	7,971,000	6,503,000
General, administrative and professional fees																	3,000	303,000	0
Gain (Loss) on Extinguishment of Debt, net																	(153,000)	0	0
Other																	(407,000)	1,902,000	1,383,000
Total expenses																	55,256,000	74,200,000	41,650,000
(Loss) income before income taxes and gain on real estate dispositions, net																	(39,038,000)	(25,991,000)	1,708,000
Income tax benefit																	0	4,000	477,000
Gain on real estate dispositions, net																	3,617,000	80,952,000	0
Discontinued operations	$ 102,000	[1]	$ (8,972,000)	[1]	$ (18,315,000)	[1]	$ (8,236,000)	[1]	$ (15,172,000)	[2]	$ (3,855,000)	[2]	$ 30,612,000	[2]	$ 43,380,000	[2]	$ (35,421,000)	$ 54,965,000	$ 2,185,000

[1] The amounts presented for the three months ended March 31, 2013, June 30, 2013 and September 30, 2013 differ from the amounts previously reported in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q as a result of discontinued operations consisting of properties sold in 2013 or classified as held for sale as of December 31, 2013.

[2] The amounts presented for the three months ended March 31, 2012, June 30, 2012, September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2012 differ from the amounts previously reported in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 as a result of discontinued operations consisting of properties sold in 2013 or classified as held for sale as of December 31, 2013.