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Health Care REIT, Inc. Increases Quarterly Dividend

"We are pleased to provide a dividend increase to our stockholders," said George L. Chapman, chief executive officer of Health Care REIT, Inc. "This increase is a display of our confidence in our ability to find accretive opportunities in an improving investment environment."

Health Care REIT, Inc., an S&P 500 company with headquarters in Toledo, Ohio, is a real estate investment trust that invests across the full spectrum of senior housing and health care real estate. The company also provides an extensive array of property management and development services. As of June 30, 2010, the company's broadly diversified portfolio consisted of 625 properties in 39 states. More information is available on the company's website at www.hcreit.com.

This document may contain "forward-looking" statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When the company uses words such as "may," "will," "intend," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "estimate" or similar expressions, it is making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. The company's expected results may not be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from 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 availability and cost of capital; changes in financing terms; competition within the health care, senior housing and life science industries; the company's ability to make timely investments on acceptable terms; and unanticipated difficulties and/or expenditures relating to future acquisitions. Additional factors are discussed in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and in its other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company assumes 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.

Health Care REIT, Inc.
Scott Estes, 419-247-2800
Mike Crabtree, 419-247-2800