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                                                                    Exhibit 99.1


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


                                                   January 16, 2001
                                                   For more information contact:
                                                   Ray Braun (419) 247-2800
                                                   Mike Crabtree (419) 247-2800

                HEALTH CARE REIT, INC. DECLARES REGULAR DIVIDEND;
               FOURTH-QUARTER CONFERENCE CALL SET FOR FEB. 2, 2001

Toledo, Ohio, January 16, 2001...HEALTH CARE REIT, INC. (NYSE/HCN) announced
today that its Board of Directors voted to declare a dividend for the quarter
ended December 31, 2000, of $0.585 per share as compared with $0.58 per share
for the same period in 1999.

The dividend represents the 119th consecutive dividend payment. The dividend
will be payable February 20, 2001, to shareholders of record on January 31,
2001.

The company also announced it would release its 2000 fourth-quarter and year-end
earnings results on Thursday, February 1, after New York Stock Exchange trading
ends. At 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on February 2, the company will hold a
conference call to discuss its financial and operating performance for the
recent period as well as provide its outlook for 2001.

The conference call will be accessible by telephone and through the Internet.
Telephone access is available by dialing 800-982-3654 or 703-871-3021. 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. To access
the rebroadcast, dial 888-266-2086 or 703-925-2435. The conference ID number is
4909796.

To participate on the webcast, log on to www.hcreit.com or www.streetfusion.com
15 minutes before the call to download the necessary software. Replays will be
available for 90 days through the same websites.

Health Care REIT, Inc., with headquarters in Toledo, Ohio, is a real estate
investment trust that invests in health care facilities, primarily nursing homes
and assisted living facilities. At September 30, 2000, the company had
investments in 209 health care facilities in 34 states and had total assets of
approximately $1.2 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.

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