Real Estate Investments (Details) (Real Estate Investment [Member], USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2014 item state property
Real Estate Investments
Gross Investments	$ 956,516
Percentage of Investments	100.00%
Number of properties	173
Number of states	26
Number of operators	31
Operating leases
Number of ways to compute annual rent increases	4
Minimum [Member]
Operating leases
Initial term of non-cancelable operating lease	10 years
Specified annual increase over the prior year's rent (as a percent)	2.00%
Maximum [Member]
Operating leases
Initial term of non-cancelable operating lease	15 years
Specified annual increase over the prior year's rent (as a percent)	3.00%
Skilled Nursing Facility Beds [Member]
Real Estate Investments
Number of Beds/Units	8,898
Assisted Living Facility Units [Member]
Real Estate Investments
Number of Beds/Units	4,770
Assisted Living Properties [Member]
Real Estate Investments
Gross Investments	405,048
Percentage of Investments	42.40%
Number of properties	96
Average Investment per Bed/Unit	90,090
Assisted Living Properties [Member] | Assisted Living Facility Units [Member]
Real Estate Investments
Number of Beds/Units	4,496
Skilled Nursing Properties [Member]
Real Estate Investments
Gross Investments	459,470
Percentage of Investments	48.00%
Number of properties	68
Average Investment per Bed/Unit	55,600
Number of beds/units under development	143
Skilled Nursing Properties [Member] | Skilled Nursing Facility Beds [Member]
Real Estate Investments
Number of Beds/Units	8,264
Range Of Care Properties [Member]
Real Estate Investments
Gross Investments	43,906
Percentage of Investments	4.60%
Number of properties	8
Average Investment per Bed/Unit	48,350
Range Of Care Properties [Member] | Skilled Nursing Facility Beds [Member]
Real Estate Investments
Number of Beds/Units	634
Range Of Care Properties [Member] | Assisted Living Facility Units [Member]
Real Estate Investments
Number of Beds/Units	274
Properties Under Development [Member]
Real Estate Investments
Gross Investments	37,659
Percentage of Investments	3.90%
Other Senior Housing Properties [Member]
Real Estate Investments
Gross Investments	$ 10,433
Percentage of Investments	1.10%
Number of properties	1
Number of parcels of land	4
Schools [Member]
Real Estate Investments
Number of properties	1
Memory Care Property [Member]
Real Estate Investments
Number of developments	3
Number of beds/units under development	168
Assisted Living And Memory Care Properties [Member]
Real Estate Investments
Number of beds/units under development	81