SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                       ----------------------------------

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

                     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934

                Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):
                                  July 2, 2003

                                  VENTAS, INC.
                                  ------------
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



   Delaware                        1-10989                      61-1055020
 ------------                    -----------                  ------------
(State or other                (Commission File                (IRS Employer
jurisdiction of                    Number)                  Identification No.)
incorporation)


        4360 Brownsboro Road, Suite 115, Louisville, Kentucky 40207-1642
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               (Address of principal executive offices)       (Zip Code)

                                 (502) 357-9000
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              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)




Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
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     (a) Financial statements of businesses acquired.

          Not applicable.

     (b) Pro forma financial information.

          Not applicable.

     (c) Exhibits:

          99.1  Press Release dated July 2, 2003.

Item 9. Regulation FD Disclosure
        ------------------------

     On July 2, 2003, Ventas, Inc. (the "Company") announced that the Company
will issue its second quarter 2003 earnings on Wednesday evening, July 23, 2003.
A conference call to discuss those earnings will be held on the morning of
Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (9:00 a.m. Central Time). The
call will be webcast live by CCBN and can be accessed at the Company website at
www.ventasreit.com or at www.companyboardroom.com.

     A copy of the press release issued by the Company on July 2, 2003 is
included as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated
in this Item 9 by reference.

     The information of this Item 9 to this Current Report on Form 8-K,
including the exhibit, is furnished pursuant to Item 9 and shall not be deemed
to be "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended (the "Exchange Act"), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that
Section.

                           FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     This Current Report on Form 8-K includes forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Exchange Act. All statements regarding the Company's and its
subsidiaries' expected future financial position, results of operations, cash
flows, funds from operations, dividends and dividend plans, financing plans,
business strategy, budgets, projected costs, capital expenditures, competitive
positions, growth opportunities, expected lease income, continued qualification
as a real estate investment trust ("REIT"), plans and objectives of management
for future operations and statements that include words such as "anticipate,"
"if," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "could,"
"should," "will" and other similar expressions are forward-looking statements.
Such forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and security holders
must recognize that actual




results may differ from the Company's expectations. The Company does not
undertake a duty to update such forward-looking statements.

     Actual future results and trends for the Company may differ materially
depending on a variety of factors discussed in the Company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Factors that may affect the plans or results
of the Company include, without limitation, (a) the ability and willingness of
Kindred Healthcare, Inc. ("Kindred") and certain of its affiliates to continue
to meet and/or perform their obligations under their contractual arrangements
with the Company and the Company's subsidiaries, including without limitation
the lease agreements and various agreements entered into by the Company and
Kindred at the time of the Company's spin-off of Kindred on May 1, 1998 (the
"1998 Spin Off"), as such agreements may have been amended and restated in
connection with Kindred's emergence from bankruptcy on April 20, 2001, (b) the
ability and willingness of Kindred to continue to meet and/or perform its
obligation to indemnify and defend the Company for all litigation and other
claims relating to the healthcare operations and other assets and liabilities
transferred to Kindred in the 1998 Spin Off, (c) the ability of Kindred and the
Company's other operators to maintain the financial strength and liquidity
necessary to satisfy their respective obligations and duties under the leases
and other agreements with the Company, and their existing credit agreements, (d)
the Company's success in implementing its business strategy, (e) the nature and
extent of future competition, (f) the extent of future healthcare reform and
regulation, including cost containment measures and changes in reimbursement
policies and procedures, (g) increases in the cost of borrowing for the Company,
(h) the ability of the Company's operators to deliver high quality care and to
attract patients, (i) the results of litigation affecting the Company, (j)
changes in general economic conditions and/or economic conditions in the markets
in which the Company may, from time to time, compete, (k) the ability of the
Company to pay down, refinance, restructure, and/or extend its indebtedness as
it becomes due, (l) the movement of interest rates and the resulting impact on
the value of the Company's interest rate swap agreements and the Company's net
worth, (m) the ability and willingness of the Company to maintain its
qualification as a REIT due to economic, market, legal, tax or other
considerations, including without limitation, the risk that the Company may fail
to qualify as a REIT due to its ownership of common stock in Kindred, (n) final
determination of the Company's taxable net income for the years ending December
31, 2002 and December 31, 2003, (o) the ability and willingness of the Company's
tenants to renew their leases with the Company upon expiration of the leases and
the Company's ability to relet its properties on the same or better terms in the
event such leases expire and are not renewed by the existing tenants, (p) the
impact on the liquidity, financial condition and results of operations of
Kindred and the Company's other operators resulting from increased operating
costs and uninsured liabilities for professional liability claims, particularly
in the state of Florida, and the ability of Kindred and the Company's other
operators to accurately estimate the magnitude of such liabilities, and (q) the
value of the Company's common stock in Kindred and the limitations on the
ability of the Company to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of its common
stock in Kindred arising out of the securities laws and the registration rights
agreement the Company entered into with Kindred and certain of the holders of
common stock in Kindred. Many of such factors are beyond the control of the
Company and its management.




                                    SIGNATURE

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

                                        VENTAS, INC.
                                        (Registrant)
Date:  July 2, 2003
                                        By: /s/ T. Richard Riney
                                            ------------------------------
                                        Name:  T. Richard Riney
                                        Title: Executive Vice President and
                                               General Counsel




                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

                  Exhibit          Description
                  -------          -----------

                  99.1             Press Release dated July 2, 2003.