UNITED STATES
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): November 2, 2004 (October 28, 2004)

National Health Investors, Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Maryland

(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)

333-41863

62-1470956

(Commission File No.)

(IRS Employer

Identification Number)

100 Vine Street, Suite 1202

Murfreesboro, TN 37130

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

(615) 890-9100

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)



Item 8.01. Other Events

On October 28, 2004, National Health Investors, Inc. announced its third quarter earnings. A copy of the press release is furnished as an exhibit to this Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

SIGNATURES

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

National Health Investors, Inc.
By: /s/ W. Andrew Adams
Name: W. Andrew Adams
Title: Chief Executive Officer
By:/s/ Donald K. Daniel
Name: Donald K. Daniel
Title: Principal Accounting Officer
Date: November 2, 2004


Exhibit Index

Number Exhibit
99 Press release, dated October 28, 2004




EXHIBIT 99

For Release: October 28, 2004

Contact: Gerald Coggin, VP of Investor Relations

Phone: (615) 890-9100

NHI reports third quarter income

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- National Health Investors, Inc., (NYSE: NHI) announced income from continuing operations for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 of $12,049,000 or 44 cents per basic and 43 cents per diluted share of common stock compared to $11,872,000, or 43 cents per basic and diluted share of common stock for the same period in 2003.

Funds from operations ("FFO") for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 was $15,013,000, or 55 cents per basic and $15,042,000, or 54 cents per diluted share of common stock compared to $14,134,000, or 53 cents per basic and $14,171,000, or 52 cents per diluted share in 2003.

Income from continuing operations for the nine months ended Sept. 30 was $36,640,000 or $1.33 per basic and $1.32 per diluted share of common stock compared to $33,600,000 or $1.22 per basic and $1.21 per diluted share of common stock for the same period in 2003.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, FFO was $44,596,000 or $1.64 per basic and $44,687,000 or $1.63 per diluted share of common stock compared to $40,615,000 or $1.52 per basic and $40,730,000 or $1.51 per diluted share in 2003.

Net income for the three months and nine months ended Sept. 30, was $12,032,000 and $37,428,000, respectively, versus $11,055,000 and $33,991,000, respectively, for 2003.

National Health Investors, Inc. is a long-term health care real estate investment trust that specializes in the financing of health care real estate by first mortgage and by purchase and leaseback transactions. The common stock of the company trades on the New York Stock Exchange with the symbol NHI. Additional information including NHI's most recent press releases may be obtained on NHI's web site at www.nhinvestors.com.

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. NHI cautions investors that any forward-looking statements made involve risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. All forward-looking statements represent NHI's judgment as of the date of this release.

-more-

Page 2 NHI 3rd quarter results

(in thousands, except share and per Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
2004 2003 2004 2003
Revenues:
Mortgage interest income $ 4,281 $ 4,647 $ 13,950 $ 14,895
Rental income 12,186 17,837 36,665 44,202
Facility operating revenues 21,841 19,982 63,010 58,937
38,308 42,466 113,625 118,034
Expenses:
Interest 3,105 3,437 9,308 10,601
Depreciation 3,483 3,741 10,499 11,254
Amortization of loan cost 37 37 111 260
Legal expense 197 258 1,115 443
Franchise and excise tax 79 65 215 528
General and administrative 952 680 2,872 2,113
Loan, realty, REMIC, and
losses, (recoveries), net --- 5,400 (896) 6,900
Facility operating expenses 20,000 18,762 60,282 56,922
27,853 32,380 83,506 89,021
Income before non-operating 10,455 10,086 30,119 29,013
Non-operating income (investment
interest and other) 1,594 1,786 6,521 4,587
Income from continuing operations 12,049 11,872 36,640 33,600
Discontinued operations
Operating loss- (17) (420) (464) (1,144)
Gain (loss) on sale of real --- (397) 1,252 1,535
(17) (817) 788 391
Net Income 12,032 11,055 37,428 33,991
Dividends to preferred --- 397 514 1,192
Net income applicable to common $ 12,032 $ 10,658 $ 36,914 $ 32,799
Income from continuing operations per common share:
Basic $ .44 $ .43 $ 1.33 $ 1.22
Diluted $ .43 $ .43 $ 1.32 $ 1.21
Discontinued operations per
Basic $ --- $ (.03) $ .03 $ .01
Diluted $ --- $ (.03) $ .03 $ .01
Net income per common share:
Basic $ .44 $ .40 $ 1.36 $ 1.23
Diluted $ .43 $ .40 $ 1.35 $ 1.22
Funds from operations:
Basic $ 15,013 $ 14,134 $ 44,596 $ 40,615
Diluted $ 15,042 $ 14,171 $ 44,687 $ 40,730
Funds from operations per
Basic $ .55 $ .53 $ 1.64 $ 1.52
Diluted $ .54 $ .52 $ 1.63 $ 1.51
Weighted average common shares
Basic 27,488,855 26,739,985 27,178,491 26,716,411
Diluted 27,769,366 26,999,079 27,457,222 26,973,343
Dividends per common share $ .425 $ .400 $ 1.275 1.200
Balance Sheet Data
(in thousands)

Sept. 30

December
2004 2003
Real estate properties, net $ 278,49 $ 289,46
Mortgages receivable, net 139,31 149,89
Preferred stock investments 38,132 38,132
REMIC investments --- 16,043
Cash and marketable securities 150,56 120,52
Debt 155,68 162,10
Convertible debt 1,162 1,351
Stockholders' equity 416,14 409,64

-more-



Page 3 NHI's third quarter results



Reconciliation of Funds From Operations (1)(2)

The following table reconciles net income to funds from operations applicable to common stockholders:

(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended Sept.
2004 2003 2004 2003
Net income $ 12,032 $ 11,055 $ 37,428 $ 33,991
Dividends to preferred stockholders --- (397) (514) (1,192)
Net income applicable to common 12,032 10,658 36,914 32,799
Elimination of non-cash items in net
Real estate 2,981 3,060 8,922 9,213
Real estate
operations --- 19 12 138
(Gain) loss on sale of real --- 397 (1,252) (1,535)
Basic funds from operations
common stockholders 15,013 14,134 44,596 40,615
Interest on convertible subordinated 29 37 91 115
Diluted funds from operations
common stockholders $ 15,042 $ 14,171 $ 44,687 $ 40,730
Basic funds from operations per $ .55 $ .53 $ 1.64 $ 1.52
Diluted funds from operations per $ .54 $ .52 $ 1.63 $ 1.51
Shares for basic funds from 27,488,8 26,739,9 27,178,4 26,716,4
Shares for diluted funds from operations 27,769,3 26,999,0 27,457,2 26,973,3


(1) Management believes that funds from operations is an important supplemental measure of operating performance for a real estate investment trust. Because the historical cost accounting convention used for real estate assets requires straight-line depreciation (except on land), such accounting presentation implies that the value of real estate assets diminishes predictably over time. Since real estate values instead have historically risen and fallen with market conditions, presentations of operating results for a real estate investment trust that used historical cost accounting for depreciation could be less informative, and should be supplemented with a measure such as FFO. The term FFO was designed by the real estate investment trust industry to address this issue. Our measure may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other REITs. Consequently, our funds from operations may not provide a meaningful measure of our performance as compared to that of other REITs. Since other REITs may not use our definition of FFO, caution should be exercised when comparing our Company's FFO to that of other REITs. Funds from operations in and of itself does not represent cash generated from operating activities in accordance with GAAP (funds from operations does not include changes in operating assets and liabilities) and, therefore, should not be considered an alternative to net earnings as an indication of operating performance, or to net cash flow from operating activities as determined by GAAP in the United States, as a measure of liquidity and is not necessarily indicative of cash available to fund cash needs.

(2) We have complied with the SEC's interpretation that recurring impairments taken on real property may not be added back to net income in the calculation of FFO. The SEC's position is that recurring impairments on real property are not an appropriate adjustment.



-more-







Page 4 NHI's third quarter results



National Health Investors, Inc. Portfolio Summary September 30, 2004

Portfolio Statistics Investment

Percentage

Properties Investment
Equity Ownership 92 278,498,000 33%
Mortgage Loan Receivables 69 139,317,000 67%
Total Real Estate Portfolio 161   417,815,000   100%
Equity Ownership Properties   Beds   Investments
Nursing Homes 66 8,933 $ 177,848,000
Assisted Living 16 1,458 71,052,000
Medical Office Buildings 4 124,427 sq.ft. 10,979,000
Retirement Homes 5 426 10,911,000
Hospitals 1   55   7,708,000
92 $ 278,498,000
Mortgage Loan Receivables Properties Beds Investments
Nursing Homes 50 5,433 $ 127,333,000
Assisted Living 1 90 5,592,000
Retirement Homes 1 60 1,915,000
Developmentally Disabled 17 108 4,477,000
69     $ 139,317,000
Remic II Investment   1,204
Total Mortgage Portfolio 69 $ 139,317,000
Summary of Facilities by Type: Percentage of Total
Properties   Total Dollars   Dollars
Nursing Homes 116 73.04% $ 305,181,000
Assisted Living 17 18.34% 76,644,000
Medical Office Buildings 4 2.63% 10,979,000
Retirement Homes 6 3.07% 12,826,000
Hospitals 1 1.84% 7,708,000
Developmentally Disabled 17   1.07%   4,477,000
161   100.00%  $ 417,815,000



-More-





Page 5 NHI 3rd quarter results
Portfolio by Operator Type # of

Properties

  Percentage of   Total

Dollars

Public 72 29.30% $ 122,407,000
Regional 83 67.71% 282,919,000
Small Operator 6   2.99%   12,489,000
161   100.00% 417,815,000
Public Operators: Percentage

Of Total

Portfolio

Dollar

Amount

National HealthCare Corp. 13.42% $ 56,067,000
National Health Investors, Inc. 4.82% 20,133,000
Community Health Systems, Inc. 3.40% 14,215,000
Sunrise Senior Living Services, Inc. 3.31% 13,816,000
Sun Healthcare 2.21% 9,226,000
HCA-The Healthcare Company 1.07% 4,473,000
Res-Care, Inc. 1.07% 4,477,000
29.30% $ 122,407,000



Summary of Facilities by State September 30, 2004
Percent of
Acute Dev. Asst. Retire- Current Total
LTC Care MOB Disab. Living ment Total Amount Portfolio
1 Florida 19 1 14 6 40 111,928,000 26.79%
2 Texas 26 2 1 1 30 90,161,000 21.58%
3 Tennessee 21 3 3 2 29 37,817,000 9.05%
4 Missouri 9 1 10 26,793,000 6.41%
5 New Jersey 2 1 3 26,260,000 6.29%
6 Arizona 1 4 5 19,156,000 4.58%
7 Virginia 7 7 18,656,000 4.47%
8 Georgia 7 7 17,018,000 4.07%
9 New Hampshire 3 1 4 15,981,000 3.82%
10 Massachusetts 4 4 11,756,000 2.81%
11 Kansas 7 7 11,608,000 2.78%
12 Kentucky 3 1 4 9,426,000 2.26%
13 South Carolina 3 1 4 8,306,000 1.99%
14 Idaho 1 1 2 5,581,000 1.34%
15 Alabama 2 2 2,369,000 0.57%
16 North Carolina 0 1 1 1,963,000 0.47%
17 Illinois 0 1 1 1,595,000 0.38%
18 Wisconsin 1 1 1,441,000 0.34%
116 1 4 17 17 6 161 417,815,000 100.00%

-30-