Commitments and Contingencies (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended					1 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2009	Jul. 31, 2009 complaint	Sep. 30, 2009	Sep. 30, 2011 segment Property	Dec. 31, 2009	Sep. 22, 2009	Jul. 24, 2009 Property	Jun. 29, 2009 subsidiary tenant	Aug. 31, 2010 Senior housing Sunrise Property	Oct. 31, 2010 Senior housing Emeritus Property Year lease extensionoption	Oct. 18, 2010 Senior housing Emeritus Year
Legal Proceedings
Damages sought in Ventas litigation					$ 300
Verdict returned in favor of Ventas, compensatory damages	102
Provision for litigation expense			102
Prejudgment interest sought in Ventas litigation						20
Additional damages sought in Ventas litigation, currency exchange rates						4
Number of tenants who filed complaints against Sunrise								3
Number of Sunrise subsidiaries								3
Number of filed complaints moved to District Court		1
Number of communities with filed complaints moved to District Court							4
Number of communities subject to dispute							64
Number of communities, right to terminate management contracts									27
Number of communities owned by the Company									75
Number of remaining communities leased after termination on management contracts									48
Termination of management contracts, amount Company agreed to pay									50
Termination of management contracts, working capital received by Company									9
Initial indirect leasing costs, capitalized cost of termination rights									41
Number of triple-net master leases with Emeritus										2
Number of properties leased with Emeritus Corporation				27						27
Fixed lease term of properties leased to Emeritus Corporation (in years)											15
Number of extension options with Emeritus Corporation										2
Term of Emeritus Corporation extension options (in years)										10
Termination of leases with tenants, payment by Company										$ 2