XML 51 R41.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.8.0.1

Debt Debt (Schedule of Debt) (Captions) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Unamortized Discount	$ 3,340
Debt Instrument, Name, Q3 2014 HUD Mortgages [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Unamortized Discount	1,381	$ 1,402
Debt Instrument, Name, Convertible Senior Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Unamortized Discount	$ 1,959	$ 2,637

X

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Amount, after accumulated amortization, of debt discount.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1A
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=64930785&loc=d3e28541-108399

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 55
-Paragraph 8
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=64930739&loc=d3e28878-108400

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentUnamortizedDiscount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis=nhi_DebtInstrumentNameQ32014HUDMortgagesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis=nhi_DebtInstrumentNameConvertibleSeniorNotesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: