Investments in Unconsolidated Entities (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended					9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended													7 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior housing - triple net [Member] properties		Sep. 30, 2012 Senior housing - triple net [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior housing - triple net [Member]		Sep. 30, 2013 Senior housing - operating [Member] properties	Sep. 30, 2012 Senior housing - operating [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Senior housing - operating [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Medical facilities [Member] properties	Sep. 30, 2012 Medical facilities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Medical facilities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Strategic Medical Office Partnership [Member] properties	Dec. 31, 2010 Strategic Medical Office Partnership [Member] Controlling [Member] properties	Dec. 31, 2010 Strategic Medical Office Partnership [Member] Non Controlling [Member] properties	Sep. 30, 2013 Chartwell [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Chartwell [Member] properties	Jun. 30, 2012 Chartwell [Member] Controlling [Member] properties	Sep. 30, 2013 Chartwell [Member] Non Controlling [Member] properties	Jun. 30, 2012 Chartwell [Member] Non Controlling [Member] properties	Dec. 31, 2010 Forest City [Member] properties	Sep. 30, 2013 Sunrise [Member]	Jul. 31, 2013 Sunrise [Member] Controlling [Member] properties	Sep. 30, 2013 Sunrise [Member] Non Controlling [Member] properties	Sep. 30, 2013 Management Buyer [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Income from unconsolidated entities	$ (331,000)	$ (739,000)	$ (3,529,000)	$ 2,250,000		$ 3,680,000		$ 26,000			$ (13,946,000)	$ (4,090,000)		$ 6,737,000	$ 6,314,000
Equity Investments	475,574,000		475,574,000		438,936,000	29,107,000	[1]		34,618,000	[1]	257,232,000		217,701,000	189,235,000		186,617,000										49,759,000
Investment Percentage Range						10% to 49%					33% to 50%			36% to 49%
Number of properties in portfolio						0					44			13			17	11	6		42	3	39	39	7			54
Percentage of partnership owned	20.00%		20.00%																		50.00%				49.00%				20.00%
Unamortized investment																				$ 9,488,000
Number of Real Property Acquisitions																											49

[1] (1) Asset amounts include an available-for-sale equity investment. See Note 16 for additional information.