Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, Net - Goodwill (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance at January 1, 2018	$ 505,783	$ 505,783
Impairment		(351,652)
Balance at September 30, 2018		154,131
Retirement Centers
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance at January 1, 2018	27,321	27,321
Impairment		0
Balance at September 30, 2018		27,321
Assisted Living
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance at January 1, 2018	351,652	351,652
Impairment	(351,700)	(351,652)
Balance at September 30, 2018		0
Brookdale Ancillary Services
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance at January 1, 2018	$ 126,810	126,810
Impairment		0
Balance at September 30, 2018		$ 126,810

Amount of loss from the write-down of an asset representing the future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
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-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=108376223&loc=d3e13854-109267

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
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Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
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Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
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-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99380562&loc=d3e13777-109266

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