Rent Expenses by Business Segment (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	$ 382,609	$ 313,039	$ 302,192
Operating Segments | Hospital Division
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	206,692	205,163	194,967
Operating Segments | Hospital Division | Building | Ventas
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	118,511	118,130	107,431
Operating Segments | Hospital Division | Building | Other Landlords
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	56,186	56,210	55,481
Operating Segments | Hospital Division | Equipment
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	31,995	30,823	32,055
Operating Segments | Home Health
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	34,725	7,832	4,123
Operating Segments | Home Health | Building
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	33,118	7,027	3,621
Operating Segments | Home Health | Equipment
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	1,607	805	502
Operating Segments | Hospice
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	16,997	950	978
Operating Segments | Hospice | Building
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	16,577	895	892
Operating Segments | Hospice | Equipment
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	420	55	86
Operating Segments | Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	30,780	7,041	7,326
Operating Segments | Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services | Building
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	29,423	6,488	6,821
Operating Segments | Kindred Hospital Rehabilitation Services | Equipment
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	1,357	553	505
Operating Segments | RehabCare
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	3,825	4,199	4,726
Operating Segments | RehabCare | Building
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	1,236	1,314	1,311
Operating Segments | RehabCare | Equipment
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	2,589	2,885	3,415
Operating Segments | Nursing Centers
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	86,237	85,569	87,788
Operating Segments | Nursing Centers | Building | Ventas
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	43,948	43,809	40,667
Operating Segments | Nursing Centers | Building | Other Landlords
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	34,398	33,412	38,628
Operating Segments | Nursing Centers | Equipment
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	7,891	8,348	8,493
Operating Segments | Support Center
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	3,353	2,285	2,284
Operating Segments | Support Center | Building
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	3,233	2,109	2,120
Operating Segments | Support Center | Equipment
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	120	176	164
Corporate Non Segment
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	3,353	2,285	2,284
Corporate Non Segment | Building | Ventas
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	162,459	161,939	148,098
Corporate Non Segment | Building | Other Landlords
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	174,171	107,455	108,874
Corporate Non Segment | Equipment
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Rent	$ 45,979	$ 43,645	$ 45,220