Discontinued Operations (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012 properties	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 properties	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 National HealthCare Corporation [Member] properties	Sep. 30, 2011 National HealthCare Corporation [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Fundamental Long Term Care Holdings [Member] properties	Sep. 30, 2012 Fundamental Long Term Care Holdings [Member] properties	Sep. 30, 2011 Fundamental Long Term Care Holdings [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Current Tenant of 2 MOB's [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Current Tenant of 2 MOB's [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 ALF in Daytona [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 ALF in Daytona [Member]	Aug. 31, 2011 Disposal [Member] beds_or_units	Feb. 28, 2011 Disposal [Member] Current Tenant of 2 MOB's [Member] properties	Aug. 31, 2011 Disposal [Member] ALF in Daytona [Member] beds_or_units
Number of Real Estate Properties	109		109		41		5	5							2
Lease Extension Period in Years							3	3
Operating Leases, Income Statement, Lease Revenue	$ 22,285,000	$ 19,975,000	$ 64,905,000	$ 59,868,000	$ 27,584,000	$ 27,156,000		$ 3,717,000	$ 3,610,000
Revenues	0	30,000	0	243,000						0	41,000	0	202,000
Gain (Loss) on Sale of Properties, Net of Applicable Income Taxes	0	1,048,000	0	3,348,000
Number of Units in Real Estate Property														60		60
Discontinued Operation, Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operation, before Income Tax	0	24,000	0	204,000
Proceeds from Sale of Other Real Estate			0	8,971,000
Depreciation, Continuing Operations	$ 5,892,000	$ 2,930,000	$ 12,653,000	$ 8,729,000			$ 2,398,000