Real Estate Investments (Details 2) (USD $)	9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended				9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended				1 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012 agreement operator property Unit	Sep. 30, 2011 property operator agreement	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011 SNF Beds bed	Sep. 30, 2011 ALF Units bed	Sep. 30, 2011 ILF Units bed	Sep. 30, 2012 Memory care property Colorado item	Sep. 30, 2012 Memory care property Colorado Maximum	Sep. 30, 2012 Skilled Nursing item property bed	Sep. 30, 2011 Skilled Nursing property bed	Sep. 30, 2012 Skilled Nursing Maximum	Sep. 30, 2011 Skilled Nursing SNF Beds bed	Sep. 30, 2012 144-bed skilled nursing property SNF Beds Ohio item bed property	Sep. 30, 2012 140-bed skilled nursing property Texas bed	Sep. 30, 2011 524-bed skilled nursing property Texas	Sep. 30, 2011 524-bed skilled nursing property Texas item Unit property	Sep. 30, 2012 120-bed skilled nursing property under development SNF Beds Texas bed	Sep. 30, 2012 234-bed skilled nursing property SNF Beds Texas property bed	Sep. 30, 2012 Land	Oct. 31, 2012 Assisted living and Memory care property Kansas item Unit	Oct. 31, 2012 Assisted living and Memory care property Kansas Maximum	Sep. 30, 2011 Other Senior Housing property	Sep. 30, 2011 Other Senior Housing SNF Beds bed	Sep. 30, 2011 Other Senior Housing ALF Units Unit	Sep. 30, 2011 Other Senior Housing ILF Units Unit
Acquisitions
Lease agreement and development commitment amount	$ 39,215,000							$ 7,935,000													$ 9,855,000
Number of beds/units in existing property that is being replaced																	90
Initial rent rate (as a percent)							9.25%													9.25%
Compounded interest rate (as a percent)							9.00%													9.00%
Lease term of master lease							11 years						15 years							10 years
Number of renewal options							4						2							2
Renewal options							5 years						5 years							5 years
Annual escalation under lease for first seven years (as a percent)													2.25%
Annual escalation under lease for remainder years (as a percent)													2.50%
Annual escalation under lease (as a percent)							2.50%													2.50%
Number of beds/units acquired										524			144			524		234		77
Purchase Price	80,982,000	72,291,000					1,882,000		79,100,000	60,841,000			54,000,000		41,000,000	41,000,000			1,882,000	730,000		11,450,000
Used Commitment	2,422,000																			492,000
Transaction Costs	366,000	222,000							246,000	188,000									120,000			34,000
Total Acquisition Costs	81,348,000	72,513,000							79,346,000	61,029,000					50,841,000	50,841,000		25,100,000	2,002,000			11,484,000
Number of Properties	4	7							4	5			2			4		2				2
Number of Beds/Units	522			782	40	53			522			664											118	40	53
GAAP yield (as a percent)													10.10%					10.70%
Number of beds or units in property sold														140
Sale of property														1,248,000
Gain on sale of property, net of selling expenses	16,000													16,000
Amount invested for expansion and renovation of properties	2,438,000	2,421,000
Average yield on amount invested for expansion and renovation of properties (as a percent)	9.10%	9.90%
Number of properties in which investments to expand and renovate	4	9
Number of operators of properties in which investments to expand and renovate	2	5
Number of operators of properties to be constructed	2
Amount invested in properties with yield already included in rental rates	174,000	35,000
Number of existing properties for capital improvements	2	2
Number of lease agreements for existing properties	2	2
Number of earn-out payments required									2							2
Total contingent earn-out payment, maximum											11,000,000				11,000,000	11,000,000
First contingent earn-out payment, amount			$ 4,000,000												$ 4,000,000