Description of Business	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Description of Business	Description of Business Ventas, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, unless otherwise indicated or except where the context otherwise requires, “we,” “us” or “our”), an S&P 500 company, is a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) with a highly diversified portfolio of seniors housing and healthcare properties located throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. As of December 31, 2015, we owned approximately 1,300 properties (including properties classified as held for sale), consisting of seniors housing communities, medical office buildings (“MOBs”), skilled nursing facilities, specialty hospitals and general acute care hospitals, and we had four properties under development, including two properties that are owned by an unconsolidated real estate entity. Our company was originally founded in 1983 and is currently headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. As further discussed in “Note 5—Dispositions”, in August 2015 we completed the spin-off of most of our post-acute/skilled nursing facility portfolio into an independent, publicly traded REIT named Care Capital Properties, Inc. (“CCP”) (the “CCP Spin-Off”). The historical results of operations of the CCP properties as well as the related assets and liabilities are presented as discontinued operations in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. We primarily invest in seniors housing and healthcare properties through acquisitions and lease our properties to unaffiliated tenants or operate them through independent third-party managers. As of December 31, 2015, we leased a total of 607 properties (excluding MOBs and properties classified as held for sale) to various healthcare operating companies under “triple-net” or “absolute-net” leases that obligate the tenants to pay all property-related expenses, including maintenance, utilities, repairs, taxes, insurance and capital expenditures, and we engaged independent operators, such as Atria Senior Living, Inc. (“Atria”) and Sunrise Senior Living, LLC (together with its subsidiaries, “Sunrise”), to manage 304 seniors housing communities for us pursuant to long-term management agreements. Our three largest tenants, Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, “Brookdale Senior Living”), Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, “Kindred”) and Ardent Health Partners, LLC (together with its subsidiaries, “Ardent”) leased from us 140 properties (excluding six properties owned through investments in unconsolidated entities and one property managed by Brookdale Senior Living pursuant to a long-term management agreement), 76 properties and ten properties, respectively, as of December 31, 2015. Through our Lillibridge Healthcare Services, Inc. (“Lillibridge”) subsidiary and our ownership interest in PMB Real Estate Services LLC (“PMBRES”), we also provide MOB management, leasing, marketing, facility development and advisory services to highly rated hospitals and health systems throughout the United States. In addition, from time to time, we make secured and non-mortgage loans and other investments relating to seniors housing and healthcare operators or properties.

Description of Business

Ventas, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, unless otherwise indicated or except where the context otherwise requires, “we,” “us” or “our”), an S&P 500 company, is a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) with a highly diversified portfolio of seniors housing and healthcare properties located throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. As of December 31, 2015, we owned approximately 1,300 properties (including properties classified as held for sale), consisting of seniors housing communities, medical office buildings (“MOBs”), skilled nursing facilities, specialty hospitals and general acute care hospitals, and we had four properties under development, including two properties that are owned by an unconsolidated real estate entity. Our company was originally founded in 1983 and is currently headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. As further discussed in “Note 5—Dispositions”, in August 2015 we completed the spin-off of most of our post-acute/skilled nursing facility portfolio into an independent, publicly traded REIT named Care Capital Properties, Inc. (“CCP”) (the “CCP Spin-Off”). The historical results of operations of the CCP properties as well as the related assets and liabilities are presented as discontinued operations in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

We primarily invest in seniors housing and healthcare properties through acquisitions and lease our properties to unaffiliated tenants or operate them through independent third-party managers. As of December 31, 2015, we leased a total of 607 properties (excluding MOBs and properties classified as held for sale) to various healthcare operating companies under “triple-net” or “absolute-net” leases that obligate the tenants to pay all property-related expenses, including maintenance, utilities, repairs, taxes, insurance and capital expenditures, and we engaged independent operators, such as Atria Senior Living, Inc. (“Atria”) and Sunrise Senior Living, LLC (together with its subsidiaries, “Sunrise”), to manage 304 seniors housing communities for us pursuant to long-term management agreements. Our three largest tenants, Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, “Brookdale Senior Living”), Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, “Kindred”) and Ardent Health Partners, LLC (together with its subsidiaries, “Ardent”) leased from us 140 properties (excluding six properties owned through investments in unconsolidated entities and one property managed by Brookdale Senior Living pursuant to a long-term management agreement), 76 properties and ten properties, respectively, as of December 31, 2015.

Through our Lillibridge Healthcare Services, Inc. (“Lillibridge”) subsidiary and our ownership interest in PMB Real Estate Services LLC (“PMBRES”), we also provide MOB management, leasing, marketing, facility development and advisory services to highly rated hospitals and health systems throughout the United States. In addition, from time to time, we make secured and non-mortgage loans and other investments relating to seniors housing and healthcare operators or properties.