SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

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                                    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):
                                October 11, 2002

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



           Delaware               1-10989                    61-1055020
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       (State or other          Commission                 (IRS Employer
       jurisdiction of          File 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 5. Other Events.
        ------------

     On October 11, 2002, Ventas, Inc. (the "Company"), together with Ventas
Healthcare Properties, Inc., a newly formed, wholly owned direct subsidiary of
the Company ("Ventas Heathcare"), and certain of the Company's other
subsidiaries executed (i) a Supplemental Indenture (the "2009 Supplemental
Indenture") relating to the 8 3/4% Senior Notes due 2009 (the "2009 Notes") of
Ventas Realty, Limited Partnership ("Ventas Realty") and Ventas Capital
Corporation ("Ventas Capital"), which supplements the Indenture (the "2009
Indenture"), dated as of April 17, 2002, by and among Ventas Realty and Ventas
Capital, as Issuers, the Company and Ventas LP Realty, L.L.C. ("Ventas LLC"), as
Guarantors, and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee; and (ii) a
Supplemental Indenture (the "2012 Supplemental Indenture," and, together with
the 2009 Supplemental Indenture, the "Supplemental Indentures") relating to the
9% Senior Notes due 2012 (the "2012 Notes," and, together with the 2009 Notes,
the "Notes") of Ventas Realty and Ventas Capital, which supplements the
Indenture (the "2012 Indenture," and together with the 2009 Indenture, the
"Indentures"), dated as of April 17, 2002, by and among Ventas Realty and Ventas
Capital, as Issuers, the Company and Ventas LLC, as Guarantors, and U.S. Bank
National Association, as Trustee.

     Under each of the Indentures, the Company is required to cause newly
acquired or created subsidiaries to become Guarantors (as such term is defined
in the Indentures) of the Notes and to cause such newly acquired or created
subsidiaries to execute a supplemental indenture, subject to certain exceptions.
Ventas Healthcare was incorporated on September 30, 2002 and the Supplemental
Indentures were executed in order to fulfill the Company's obligations under the
Indentures with respect to Ventas Healthcare. The 2009 Supplemental Indenture
and the 2012 Supplemental Indenture are included as Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2 to
this Current Report on Form 8-K, respectively.

                           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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. 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 stockholders 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 (the "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 (the
"Spin 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 ability of the Company to
satisfy its obligation to post cash collateral if required to do so under one of
these interest rate swap agreements, (m) the ability and willingness of Atria,
Inc. ("Atria") to continue to meet and honor its contractual arrangements with
the Company and Ventas Realty Limited Partnership, entered into in connection
with the Company's spin-off of its assisted living operations and related assets
and liabilities to Atria in August 1996, (n) 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, (o) the outcome of the audit being conducted by the Internal Revenue
Service for the Company's tax years ended December 31, 1997 and 1998, (p) final
determination of the Company's taxable net income for the year ended December
31, 2002, (q) 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 and (r) 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 the common stock
in Kindred. Many of such factors are beyond the control of the Company and its
management.




     Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
             ---------------------------------

          (a) Financial statements of businesses acquired.

                    Not applicable.

          (b) Pro forma financial information.

                    Not applicable.

          (c) Exhibits:

                    99.1    Supplemental Indenture, dated as of October 11,
                            2002, by and among Ventas Healthcare Properties,
                            Inc., as a Guaranteeing Subsidiary, Ventas Realty,
                            Limited Partnership and Ventas Capital Corporation,
                            as Issuers, Ventas, Inc. and Ventas LP Realty,
                            L.L.C., as Guarantors, and U.S. Bank National
                            Association, as Trustee.

                    99.2    Supplemental Indenture, dated as of October 11,
                            2002, by and among Ventas Healthcare Properties,
                            Inc., as a Guaranteeing Subsidiary, Ventas Realty,
                            Limited Partnership and Ventas Capital Corporation,
                            as Issuers, Ventas, Inc. and Ventas LP Realty,
                            L.L.C., as Guarantors, and U.S. Bank National
                            Association, as Trustee.



                                    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:  October 16, 2002

                                  By:  /s/ T. Richard Riney
                                       ------------------------------------
                                       Name:   T. Richard Riney
                                       Title:  Executive Vice President and
                                               General Counsel



                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

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

            99.1         Supplemental Indenture, dated as of October 11, 2002,
                         by and among Ventas Healthcare Properties, Inc., as a
                         Guaranteeing Subsidiary, Ventas Realty, Limited
                         Partnership and Ventas Capital Corporation, as Issuers,
                         Ventas, Inc. and Ventas LP Realty, L.L.C., as
                         Guarantors, and U.S. Bank National Association, as
                         Trustee.

            99.2         Supplemental Indenture, dated as of October 11, 2002,
                         by and among Ventas Healthcare Properties, Inc., as a
                         Guaranteeing Subsidiary, Ventas Realty, Limited
                         Partnership and Ventas Capital Corporation, as Issuers,
                         Ventas, Inc. and Ventas LP Realty, L.L.C., as
                         Guarantors, and U.S. Bank National Association, as
                         Trustee.