TOLEDO, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 24, 2003--Health Care REIT, Inc. (NYSE:HCN) today provided commentary on the potential impact of the recent bankruptcy filing by Doctors Community Health Care Corporation and five subsidiaries ("Doctors"). On November 20, 2002, Doctors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Doctors has stated that the bankruptcy filing was due to the bankruptcy of National Century Financial Enterprises ("NCFE") and affiliates, which resulted in NCFE halting payments to health care providers, including Doctors.

HCN has provided mortgage financing to Doctors in the form of a loan secured by Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley, CA ("Pacifica"), a property that is owned by one of the debtor subsidiaries. The outstanding principal balance of the loan is approximately $18.8 million. The mortgage carries a non-default interest rate of 12.83% with quarterly interest payments of $603,000 and matured on January 1, 2003. The loan was originally made in December, 1996 for a total of $21.5 million. The quarterly interest payment due on December 31, 2002 was paid through a draw on Doctors' letter of credit. Pacifica had payment coverage in excess of 2.0x for the quarter ended September 30, 2002.

Yesterday, HCN received a report on the valuation of the Pacifica property by an independent appraiser with expertise in acute care hospitals. Based upon the appraisal and historical performance of Pacifica, HCN expects to receive payment in full of the outstanding principal and accrued interest, which HCN believes it is entitled to as an oversecured creditor. HCN does not currently intend to recognize any interest on the loan if payment is not received. If no interest is recognized or received in 2003, HCN would expect funds from operations ("FFO") to decrease by $0.06 per share for the year. Accordingly, HCN would anticipate 2003 FFO to be between $2.78 and $2.83 per share.

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. At December 31, 2002, the company had investments in 244 health care facilities in 33 states with 44 operators and had total assets of approximately $1.6 billion. 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 "believes," "expects," "anticipates," 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: 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.

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