Real Property Acquisitions and Development (Details 1) (USD $)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013		Sep. 30, 2012
Estimated Fair Value of Allocated Purchase Price of Asset and Liabilities
Purchase price, preliminary	$ 91,000,000
Senior housing - triple net [Member]
Estimated Fair Value of Allocated Purchase Price of Asset and Liabilities
Land and land improvements	56,665,000	[1]	79,325,000
Buildings and improvements	211,903,000	[1]	935,036,000
Total assets acquired	268,568,000	[1]	1,014,361,000
Secured debt	0		(86,186,000)
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	0		(3,340,000)
Total liabilities assumed	0		(89,526,000)
Capital in excess of par	0		1,024,000
Noncontrolling interests	0		(16,826,000)
Non-cash acquisition related activity	0		(310,000)
Cash disbursed for acquisitions	268,568,000	[1]	908,723,000
Construction in progress additions	103,951,000		131,579,000
Less: Capitalized Interest	(3,337,000)	[1]	(4,228,000)
Cash disbursed for construction in progress	100,614,000	[1]	127,351,000
Capital improvements to existing properties	27,819,000	[1]	48,450,000
Total cash invested in real property	397,001,000	[1]	1,084,524,000
Purchase price, preliminary	268,568,000
Senior housing - operating [Member]
Estimated Fair Value of Allocated Purchase Price of Asset and Liabilities
Land and land improvements	437,046,000	[2]	46,391,000
Buildings and improvements	4,214,254,000	[2]	450,255,000
Acquired lease intangibles	377,929,000	[2]	39,875,000
Restricted cash	41,524,000	[2]	0
Receivables and other assets	81,546,000	[2]	2,247,000
Total assets acquired	5,152,299,000	[2],[3]	538,768,000	[3]
Secured debt	(1,261,093,000)	[2]	(8,684,000)
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	(86,412,000)	[2]	(5,480,000)
Total liabilities assumed	(1,347,505,000)	[2]	(14,164,000)
Noncontrolling interests	(230,441,000)	[2]	(2,054,000)
Non-cash acquisition related activity	(856,103,000)	[2],[4]	0
Cash disbursed for acquisitions	2,718,250,000	[2]	522,550,000
Construction in progress additions	1,521,000		0
Less: Capitalized Interest	(18,000)	[2]	0
Cash disbursed for construction in progress	1,503,000	[2]	0
Capital improvements to existing properties	36,813,000	[2]	13,325,000
Total cash invested in real property	2,756,566,000	[2]	535,875,000
Cash Acquired from Acquisition	87,406,000		4,369,000
Purchase price, preliminary	5,152,299,000
Medical facilities [Member]
Estimated Fair Value of Allocated Purchase Price of Asset and Liabilities
Land and land improvements	0	[5]	53,493,000
Buildings and improvements	144,708,000	[5]	487,255,000
Acquired lease intangibles	0	[5]	93,392,000
Restricted cash	505,000	[5]	975,000
Receivables and other assets	151,000	[5]	4,311,000
Total assets acquired	145,364,000	[5]	639,426,000
Secured debt	(26,300,000)	[5]	(238,589,000)
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	(479,000)	[5]	(18,075,000)
Total liabilities assumed	(26,779,000)	[5]	(256,664,000)
Non-cash acquisition related activity	(12,056,000)	[5],[6]	(880,000)
Cash disbursed for acquisitions	106,529,000	[5]	381,882,000
Construction in progress additions	87,882,000		94,462,000
Less: Capitalized Interest	(1,343,000)	[5]	(2,885,000)
Less: Accruals	(9,806,000)	[5],[7]	(4,567,000)	[7]
Cash disbursed for construction in progress	76,733,000	[5]	87,010,000
Capital improvements to existing properties	17,887,000	[5]	30,505,000
Total cash invested in real property	201,149,000	[5]	499,397,000
Purchase price, preliminary	$ 145,364,000

[1] (1) Includes acquisitions with an aggregate purchase price of $268,568,000 for which the allocation of the purchase price consideration is preliminary and subject to change.

[2] (1) Includes acquisitions with an aggregate purchase price of $5,152,299,000 for which the allocation of the purchase price consideration is preliminary and subject to change.

[3] (2) Excludes $87,406,000 and $4,369,000 of cash acquired during the nine months ended September 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

[4] (3) Represents Sunrise loan and noncontrolling interests acquisitions.

[5] (1) Includes acquisitions with an aggregate purchase price of $145,364,000 for which the allocation of purchase price consideration is preliminary and subject to change.

[6] (2) Represents non-cash consideration exchanged in an asset swap transaction. Please see Note 5 for additional information.

[7] (3) Represents non-cash accruals for amounts to be paid in future periods relating to properties that converted in the periods noted above.