CONDENSED CONSOLIDATING INFORMATION (Unaudited) - Balance Sheet (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Jun. 30, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Assets
Net real estate investments	$ 22,054,964	$ 21,192,696
Cash and cash equivalents	103,353	286,707	$ 57,322	$ 53,023
Escrow deposits and restricted cash	68,343	80,647
Investment in and advances to affiliates	0	0
Goodwill	1,034,054	1,033,225
Assets held for sale	89,569	54,961
Other assets	505,475	518,364
Total assets	23,855,758	23,166,600
Liabilities:
Senior notes payable and other debt	11,907,997	11,127,326
Intercompany loans	0	0
Accrued interest	87,248	83,762
Accounts payable and other liabilities	929,573	907,928
Liabilities related to assets held for sale	9,812	1,462
Deferred income taxes	296,822	316,641
Total liabilities	13,231,452	12,437,119
Redeemable OP unitholder and noncontrolling interests	182,154	200,728
Total equity	10,442,152	10,528,753		9,625,427
Total liabilities and equity	23,855,758	23,166,600
Consolidated Elimination
Assets
Net real estate investments	0	0
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Escrow deposits and restricted cash	0	0
Investment in and advances to affiliates	(17,654,447)	(17,197,372)
Goodwill	0	0
Assets held for sale	0	0
Other assets	0	0
Total assets	(17,654,447)	(17,197,372)
Liabilities:
Senior notes payable and other debt	0	0
Intercompany loans	0	0
Accrued interest	0	0
Accounts payable and other liabilities	0	0
Liabilities related to assets held for sale	0	0
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Total liabilities	0	0
Redeemable OP unitholder and noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	(17,654,447)	(17,197,372)
Total liabilities and equity	(17,654,447)	(17,197,372)
Ventas, Inc.
Assets
Net real estate investments	1,917	2,007
Cash and cash equivalents	16,910	210,303	12,998	11,733
Escrow deposits and restricted cash	197	198
Investment in and advances to affiliates	14,716,005	14,258,931
Goodwill	0	0
Assets held for sale	0	0
Other assets	42,103	35,468
Total assets	14,777,132	14,506,907
Liabilities:
Senior notes payable and other debt	0	0
Intercompany loans	7,720,779	7,088,838
Accrued interest	(4,896)	(1,753)
Accounts payable and other liabilities	133,472	89,115
Liabilities related to assets held for sale	0	0
Deferred income taxes	296,822	316,641
Total liabilities	8,146,177	7,492,841
Redeemable OP unitholder and noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	6,630,955	7,014,066
Total liabilities and equity	$ 14,777,132	14,506,907
Ventas Realty
Condensed financial statements, captions
Ownership percentage by parent	100.00%
Assets
Net real estate investments	$ 122,140	173,259
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0		0
Escrow deposits and restricted cash	1,581	1,504
Investment in and advances to affiliates	2,938,442	2,938,441
Goodwill	0	0
Assets held for sale	35,688	0
Other assets	9,360	6,792
Total assets	3,107,211	3,119,996
Liabilities:
Senior notes payable and other debt	9,346,233	8,406,979
Intercompany loans	(7,102,600)	(6,209,707)
Accrued interest	71,831	67,156
Accounts payable and other liabilities	22,618	35,587
Liabilities related to assets held for sale	8,517	(1)
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Total liabilities	2,346,599	2,300,014
Redeemable OP unitholder and noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	760,612	819,982
Total liabilities and equity	3,107,211	3,119,996
Ventas Subsidiaries
Assets
Net real estate investments	21,930,907	21,017,430
Cash and cash equivalents	86,443	76,404	$ 44,324	$ 41,290
Escrow deposits and restricted cash	66,565	78,945
Investment in and advances to affiliates	0	0
Goodwill	1,034,054	1,033,225
Assets held for sale	53,881	54,961
Other assets	454,012	476,104
Total assets	23,625,862	22,737,069
Liabilities:
Senior notes payable and other debt	2,561,764	2,720,347
Intercompany loans	(618,179)	(879,131)
Accrued interest	20,313	18,359
Accounts payable and other liabilities	773,483	783,226
Liabilities related to assets held for sale	1,295	1,463
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Total liabilities	2,738,676	2,644,264
Redeemable OP unitholder and noncontrolling interests	182,154	200,728
Total equity	20,705,032	19,892,077
Total liabilities and equity	$ 23,625,862	$ 22,737,069
Nationwide Health Properties
Condensed financial statements, captions
Ownership percentage by parent	100.00%