Real Property Acquisitions and Development (Details 1) (USD $)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014		Sep. 30, 2013
Senior housing - triple net [Member]
Estimated Fair Value of Allocated Purchase Price of Asset and Liabilities
Land and land improvements	$ 36,427,000	[1]	$ 56,665,000
Buildings and improvements	303,273,000	[1]	211,903,000
Total assets acquired	339,700,000	[1]	268,568,000
Non-cash acquisition related activity	(1,937,000)	[1]	0
Cash disbursed for acquisitions	337,763,000	[1]	268,568,000
Construction in progress additions	79,668,000	[1]	103,951,000
Less: Capitalized Interest	(3,258,000)	[1]	(3,337,000)
Less: Foreign currency translation	116,000	[1]	0
Cash disbursed for construction in progress	76,526,000	[1]	100,614,000
Capital improvements to existing properties	13,481,000	[1]	27,819,000
Total cash invested in real property	427,770,000	[1]	397,001,000
Senior housing - triple net [Member] | Preliminary [Member]
Estimated Fair Value of Allocated Purchase Price of Asset and Liabilities
Total cash invested in real property	116,134,000
Senior housing - operating [Member]
Estimated Fair Value of Allocated Purchase Price of Asset and Liabilities
Land and land improvements	40,764,000	[2]	437,046,000
Buildings and improvements	224,936,000	[2]	4,214,254,000
Acquired lease intangibles	10,021,000	[2]	377,929,000
Acquired Construction in Progress	27,957,000	[2]
Restricted cash	0	[2]	41,524,000
Receivables and other assets	5,679,000	[2]	81,546,000
Total assets acquired	309,357,000	[2],[3]	5,152,299,000	[3]
Secured debt	(12,846,000)	[2]	(1,261,093,000)
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	(17,011,000)	[2]	(86,412,000)
Total liabilities assumed	(29,857,000)	[2]	(1,347,505,000)
Noncontrolling interests	0	[2]	(230,441,000)
Non-cash acquisition related activity	0	[2]	(856,103,000)	[4]
Cash disbursed for acquisitions	279,500,000	[2]	2,718,250,000
Construction in progress additions	6,984,000	[2]	1,521,000
Less: Capitalized Interest	(293,000)	[2]	(18,000)
Less: Foreign currency translation	(810,000)
Cash disbursed for construction in progress	5,881,000	[2]	1,503,000
Capital improvements to existing properties	52,177,000	[2]	36,813,000
Total cash invested in real property	337,558,000	[2]	2,756,566,000
Cash Acquired from Acquisition	245,000	[2]	60,590,000
Senior housing - operating [Member] | Preliminary [Member]
Estimated Fair Value of Allocated Purchase Price of Asset and Liabilities
Total cash invested in real property	23,922,000
Medical facilities [Member]
Estimated Fair Value of Allocated Purchase Price of Asset and Liabilities
Land and land improvements	29,588,000	[5]	0
Buildings and improvements	471,410,000	[5]	144,708,000
Acquired lease intangibles	17,440,000	[5]	0
Restricted cash			505,000
Receivables and other assets	1,245,000	[5]	151,000
Total assets acquired	519,683,000	[5]	145,364,000
Secured debt	(50,500,000)	[5]	(26,300,000)
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	(9,308,000)	[5]	(479,000)
Total liabilities assumed	(59,808,000)	[5]	(26,779,000)
Noncontrolling interests	(39,987,000)	[5]
Non-cash acquisition related activity	(45,836,000)	[5],[6]	(12,056,000)	[6]
Cash disbursed for acquisitions	374,052,000	[5]	106,529,000
Construction in progress additions	71,245,000	[5]	87,882,000
Less: Capitalized Interest	(1,533,000)	[5]	(1,343,000)
Less: Accruals	(11,290,000)	[5],[7]	(9,806,000)	[7]
Cash disbursed for construction in progress	58,422,000	[5]	76,733,000
Capital improvements to existing properties	20,666,000	[5]	17,887,000
Total cash invested in real property	453,140,000	[5]	201,149,000
Medical facilities [Member] | Preliminary [Member]
Estimated Fair Value of Allocated Purchase Price of Asset and Liabilities
Total cash invested in real property	$ 200,295,000

[1] (1) Includes acquisitions with an aggregate purchase price of $83,615,000 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 $262,935,000 for which the allocation of the purchase price consideration is preliminary and subject to change.

[3] (2) Excludes $8,476,000 and $87,406,000 of cash acquired during the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

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

[5] (1) Includes acquisitions with an aggregate purchase price of $500,177,000 for which the allocation of the purchase price consideration is preliminary and subject to change.

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

[7] (2) For the nine month period ended September 30, 2014, relates to an acquisition of assets previously financed as real estate loans. Please refer to Note 6 for additional information. For the nine month period ended September 30, 2013, relates to an asset swap transaction. Please refer to Note 5 for additional information.