TOLEDO, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 12, 2004--Health Care REIT, Inc. (NYSE:HCN) announced today that it had completed $51.6 million of gross investments during the fourth quarter of 2003.

The investment activity during the quarter was approximately 84 percent real property investments and 16 percent loans. Facility-based investments include 31 percent assisted living facilities, 46 percent skilled nursing facilities and 23 percent specialty care facilities. Aggregate funding was provided to 19 operators in 17 states. Also during the quarter, the company had $468,000 of asset sales related to one assisted living facility. Net investments for the quarter totaled $51.1 million.

For the year ended December 31, 2003, the company completed gross investments of $575.5 million, offset by $75.8 million of asset sales and loan payoffs, generating $499.7 million in net new investments.

The company also confirmed that it will release its 2003 fourth quarter and year end earnings results on February 2, 2004, before the market opens. A conference call is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. EST on February 2, 2004, to discuss these results. The information to be discussed on the call will be contained in the company's earnings release, which will also be available on the press releases page of the company's Web site (http://www.hcreit.com).

The conference call will be accessible by telephone and through the Internet. Telephone access will be available by dialing 973-935-8504 or 800-231-5571. Callers to this number will be able to listen to the company's business update. For those unable to listen to the call live, a taped rebroadcast will be available beginning two hours after completion of the live call on February 2, 2004 through February 9, 2004. To access the rebroadcast, dial 973-341-3080 or 877-519-4471. The conference ID number is 4410974. To participate on the webcast, log on to www.hcreit.com or www.fulldisclosure.com 15 minutes before the call to download the necessary software. A replay will be available on these Web sites for 90 days.

Health Care REIT, Inc., with headquarters in Toledo, Ohio, is a real estate investment trust that invests in health care facilities, primarily skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. For more information on Health Care REIT, Inc., via facsimile at no cost, dial 1-800-PRO-INFO and enter the company code - HCN. More information is available on the Internet at http://www.hcreit.com.

This document may contain "forward-looking" statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements concern the possible expansion of our portfolio; the performance of our operators and properties; our ability to enter into agreements with new viable tenants for properties which we take back from financially troubled tenants, if any; our ability to make distributions; our policies and plans regarding investments, financings and other matters; our tax status as a real estate investment trust; our ability to appropriately balance the use of debt and equity; and our ability to access capital markets or other sources of funds. When we use words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," or similar expressions, we are making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. Our expected results may not be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from our expectations. This may be a result of various factors, including, but not limited to: the status of the economy; the status of capital markets, including prevailing interest rates; compliance with and changes to regulations and payment policies within the health care industry; changes in financing terms; competition within the health care and senior housing industries; and changes in federal, state and local legislation. Finally, we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements.

    CONTACT: Health Care REIT, Inc.
             Ray Braun, 419-247-2800
             Mike Crabtree, 419-247-2800
             Scott Estes, 419-247-2800

    SOURCE: Health Care REIT, Inc.