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Loans Receivable - Other Secured Loans (Details) $ in Thousands, £ in Millions					1 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Sep. 06, 2013 GBP (£)	Sep. 06, 2013 USD ($)	May. 02, 2013 GBP (£)	May. 02, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 GBP (£)	Oct. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 GBP (£) property	Apr. 30, 2015 GBP (£)	Feb. 28, 2015 GBP (£)	Feb. 28, 2015 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2014 GBP (£) property item	Nov. 30, 2014 USD ($) property item	Dec. 31, 2015 GBP (£) property	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) property	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	May. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2015 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2012 GBP (£)
Loans Receivable:
Loans receivable, other															$ 135,363	$ 114,322
Amount draw on the revolving line of credit facility														$ 98,743	845,190
Allowance for loan losses															13,410
NHP[Member]
Loans Receivable:
Number of facilities \| property											273	273
Number of beds acquired \| item											12,500	12,500
Barchester Loan
Loans Receivable:
Loans receivable purchased, face or par value \| £			£ 121.0
Loans receivable purchased, discount			£ 109.0	$ 170,000
Cash payments received from borrower	£ 129.0	$ 202,000
Interest income related to loans		$ 24,000
Real Estate Secured
Loans Receivable:
Loans receivable, other															135,363	114,322
Other Secured
Loans Receivable:
Allowance for loan losses															13,410
HC-One Facility
Loans Receivable:
Loan facility maximum									£ 502.0		£ 395.0							$ 795,000
Amount drawn at closing												$ (574,000)
Amount draw on the revolving line of credit facility \| £											£ 363.0
Term of facility											5 years	5 years
Increase in loan facility							£ 11.0		£ 108.0	$ 164,000
Amount of facility converted into sale-leaseback transaction \| £								£ 174.0
Paydowns received \| £							£ 34.0
Non-call period shortened							17 months
Number of properties spinoff into a separate joint venture \| property							36						36	36
Term to retain security over the spinoff properties							2 years
Cash payments received from borrower													£ 34.0	$ 52,000
HC-One Facility \| Revolving line of credit facility
Loans Receivable:
Amount draw on the revolving line of credit facility \| £											£ 355.0
Tandem Health Care Loan
Loans Receivable:
Loans receivable, other																$ 256,000
Loan receivable, interest rate payable (as a percent)					11.50%								11.50%			11.50%
Loan receivable subordinated to senior mortgage debt																$ 381,000
Tandem Health Care Loan \| Maximum
Loans Receivable:
Loans receivable, other																				$ 205,000
Tandem Health Care Loan - First Tranche
Loans Receivable:
Loans receivable, other																				$ 100,000
Loan receivable, interest rate payable (as a percent)					12.00%								12.00%			12.00%				12.00%
Tandem Health Care Loan - Second Tranche
Loans Receivable:
Loans receivable, other																			$ 102,000
Loan receivable, interest rate payable (as a percent)					14.00%								14.00%			14.00%
Tandem Health Care Loan Third Tranche [Member]
Loans Receivable:
Loans receivable, other																	$ 50,000
Loan receivable, interest rate payable (as a percent)					6.00%								6.00%			6.00%
Tandem Health Care Loan Fourth Tranche [Member]
Loans Receivable:
Loans receivable, other																	$ 5,000
Loan receivable, interest rate payable (as a percent)					6.00%								6.00%			6.00%
Delphis
Loans Receivable:
Cash payments received from borrower						$ 23,000								$ 23,000	1,000
Loan receivable impairment recovery recognized						$ 6,000
Loans receivable, net reported amount															17,000
Allowance for loan losses															$ 13,000
Four Seasons
Loans Receivable:
Loan receivable, interest rate payable (as a percent)																					12.25%
Marketable debt security, par value					£ 28.0								£ 28.0			$ 42,000					£ 138.5
Held To Maturity Securities Issued And Outstanding \| £					£ 40.0								£ 40.0								£ 175.0
Four Seasons \| LIBOR
Loans Receivable:
Loan, basis spread on variable rate					6.00%