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                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1

F O R   I M M E D I A T E   R E L E A S E
                                                 APRIL 6, 2006
                                                 FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                 MIKE CRABTREE - (419) 247-2800
                                                 SCOTT ESTES - (419) 247-2800


                        HEALTH CARE REIT, INC. ANNOUNCES
                   PRICING OF 3,000,000 SHARES OF COMMON STOCK
                               AT $36.00 PER SHARE

Toledo, Ohio, April 6, 2006...HEALTH CARE REIT, INC. (NYSE:HCN) announced that
it has successfully priced a public offering of 3,000,000 shares of common stock
at $36.00 per share for gross proceeds totaling $108 million. It is anticipated
that closing will occur on April 12, 2006. The company has granted the
underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 450,000 shares during the
next 30 days to cover over allotments, if any.

The joint bookrunning managers for the offering are Deutsche Bank Securities and
UBS Investment Bank. A.G. Edwards, Raymond James, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company,
Incorporated, Calyon Securities (USA), KeyBanc Capital Markets and LaSalle
Capital Markets are acting as co-managers for the offering.

This press release is not an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to
buy, any of these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in
any state or jurisdiction in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be
unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of
such state or jurisdiction. This offering of shares of common stock may be made
only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. A
prospectus supplement relating to this offering will be filed with the SEC and
copies of the prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus can be obtained
by contacting Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., 60 Wall Street, 4th Floor, New
York, New York 10005, or UBS Securities LLC, Prospectus Department, 299 Park
Avenue, New York, New York 10171.

Health Care REIT, Inc., with headquarters in Toledo, Ohio, is a real estate
investment trust that invests in health care and senior housing properties. At
December 31, 2005, the company had investments in 442 facilities in 36 states
with 54 operators and had total assets of approximately $3.0 billion. The
portfolio included 195 assisted living facilities, 203 skilled nursing
facilities, 31 independent living/continuing care retirement communities and 13
specialty care facilities. More information is available on the Internet at
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 and are based upon, among other things, the future growth and expansion
of the company's portfolio; its ability to

make distributions; its policies and plans regarding corporate administration,
investments, financings and other matters; its ability to access capital and
financial markets or other sources of funds; and its ability to meet its
earnings guidance. When the company uses words such as "may," "will," "intend,"
"should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "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 prevailing interest rates; changes in the health care
industry and the payment for services; changes in financing terms; competition
within the health care and senior housing industries; negative developments in
the operating results or financial condition of operators; the company's ability
to transition or sell facilities with a profitable result; the failure of
closings to occur as and when anticipated; acts of God or third parties
affecting our properties; the company's ability to reinvest sale proceeds at
similar rates to assets sold; operator bankruptcies or insolvencies; government
regulations affecting Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates; liability
claims and insurance costs for operators; unanticipated difficulties and/or
expenditures relating to future acquisitions and dispositions; environmental
laws affecting the company's properties; delays in reinvestment of sale
proceeds; changes in rules or practices governing the company's financial
reporting; and structure related factors, including real estate investment trust
qualification, anti-takeover provisions and key management personnel. Finally,
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.

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