Intangibles (Goodwill) (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill as of December 31, 2014 (excluding held for sale)	$ 452,931
Acquisitions	746,883
Partial disposal of reporting unit	(15,828)
Goodwill allocated in the CCP Spin-Off	(135,446)
Currency translation adjustments and other	(1,043)
Goodwill as of December 31, 2015	1,047,497
Triple-net leased properties
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill as of December 31, 2014 (excluding held for sale)	327,232
Acquisitions	133,539
Partial disposal of reporting unit	(11,967)
Goodwill allocated in the CCP Spin-Off	(135,446)
Currency translation adjustments and other	(1,043)
Goodwill as of December 31, 2015	312,315
Senior living operations
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill as of December 31, 2014 (excluding held for sale)	41,741
Acquisitions	219,141
Partial disposal of reporting unit	0
Goodwill allocated in the CCP Spin-Off	0
Currency translation adjustments and other	0
Goodwill as of December 31, 2015	260,882
MOB operations
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill as of December 31, 2014 (excluding held for sale)	83,958
Acquisitions	394,203
Partial disposal of reporting unit	(3,861)
Goodwill allocated in the CCP Spin-Off	0
Currency translation adjustments and other	0
Goodwill as of December 31, 2015	$ 474,300

Amount after accumulated impairment loss of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35741047&loc=d3e13816-109267

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6388280&loc=d3e13770-109266

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Amount of increase in asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized resulting from a business combination.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35741047&loc=d3e13816-109267

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

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (d)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35741047&loc=d3e13816-109267

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Goodwill Allocated to Spin Off

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Goodwill, Foreign Currency Translation Gain (Loss)

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