Segment Information

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Segment Information [Abstract]

Segment Information

15.   Segment Information

The Company currently has four reportable segments: retirement centers; assisted living; CCRCs; and management services.   These segments were determined based on the way that the Company's chief operating decision makers organize the Company's business activities for making operating decisions and assessing performance.

Retirement Centers.  Retirement center communities are primarily designed for middle to upper income senior citizens age 75 and older who desire an upscale residential environment providing the highest quality of service.  The majority of the Company's retirement center communities consist of both independent living and assisted living units in a single community, which allows residents to "age-in-place" by providing them with a continuum of senior independent and assisted living services.

Assisted Living.  Assisted living communities offer housing and 24-hour assistance with activities of daily life to mid-acuity frail and elderly residents.  The Company's assisted living communities include both freestanding, multi-story communities and freestanding single story communities.  The Company also operates memory care communities, which are freestanding assisted living communities specially designed for residents with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

CCRCs.  CCRCs are large communities that offer a variety of living arrangements and services to accommodate all levels of physical ability and health.  Most of the Company's CCRCs have retirement centers, assisted living and skilled nursing available on one campus, and some also include memory care and Alzheimer's units.

Management Services.  The Company's management services segment includes communities operated by the Company pursuant to management agreements, where the controlling financial interest in the community is held by others.  Under the management agreements for these communities, the Company receives management fees as well as reimbursed expenses, which represent the reimbursement of certain expenses it incurs on behalf of the owners.

The accounting policies of the Company's reportable segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies.

The following table sets forth certain segment financial and operating data (dollars in thousands):

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2012			2011
Revenue(1)
Retirement Centers	$	138,928		$	128,561
Assisted Living		276,260			265,194
CCRCs		181,698			174,280
Management Services(2)		86,639			18,885
	$	683,525		$	586,920
Segment operating income(3)
Retirement Centers	$	54,231		$	52,209
Assisted Living		95,902			93,077
CCRCs		47,504			51,795
Management Services		5,547			984
		203,184			198,065
General and administrative (including non-cash stock-based compensation expense)(4)		42,596			33,122
Facility lease expense		71,445			66,315
Depreciation and amortization		63,344			71,782
Asset impairment		1,083			14,846
Loss on acquisition		636			-
Gain on facility lease termination		(2,780	)		-
Income from operations	$	26,860		$	12,000

	As of
	March 31, 2012		December 31, 2011
Total assets
Retirement Centers	$	1,181,247	$	1,061,815
Assisted Living		1,454,289		1,463,198
CCRCs		1,550,275		1,563,004
Corporate and Management Services		390,298		378,044
Total assets	$	4,576,109	$	4,466,061

(1) All revenue is earned from external third parties in the United States.

(2) Management services segment revenue includes reimbursements for which the Company is the primary obligor of costs incurred on behalf of managed communities.

(3) Segment operating income is defined as segment revenues less segment operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization).

(4) Net of general and administrative costs allocated to management services reporting segment.