EXHIBIT 99.5


                       [HEALTH CARE REIT LOGO]



F O R   I M M E D I A T E   R E L E A S E
                                                  October 1, 2002
                                                  For more information contact:
                                                  Ray Braun (419) 247-2800
                                                  Mike Crabtree (419) 247-2800


                 HEALTH CARE REIT, INC. TO RELEASE EARNINGS AND
          HOLD THIRD-QUARTER CONFERENCE CALL SET FOR OCTOBER 15, 2002

Toledo, Ohio, October 1, 2002.....HEALTH CARE REIT, INC. (NYSE/HCN) announced
today that it will release its 2002 third quarter earnings on Tuesday, October
15, 2002. At 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, October 15, 2002, the company
will hold a conference call to discuss its results and performance for the third
quarter.

The conference call will be accessible by telephone and through the Internet.
Telephone access will be available by dialing 800-218-9073 or 303-262-2171.
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 October 15,
2002. To access the rebroadcast, dial 800-405-2236 or 303-590-3000. The
conference ID number is 500362.

To participate via the webcast, log on to WWW.HCREIT.COM or WWW.CCBN.COM 15
minutes before the call to download the necessary software. Replay 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 skilled
nursing and assisted living facilities. At June 30, 2002, the company had
investments in 229 health care facilities in 34 states and total assets of
approximately $1.5 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 obtain 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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