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IRVINE, Calif., April 19, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (“Sabra”) (Nasdaq:SBRA) today announced that it received an upgrade to its corporate family rating by Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”).

On April 19, 2012, Moody’s upgraded both Sabra’s corporate credit rating and senior unsecured notes rating to ‘B1′ from ‘B2′, with a stable outlook. Commenting on the Moody’s report, Rick Matros, CEO and Chairman said, “We are pleased with the credit rating increase and the expected positive impact it will have on our cost of capital in the future. It demonstrates the progress we have made in improving our credit statistics and diversifying our portfolio. Improvements in our cost of capital should allow us to better compete for acquisitions within diverse healthcare asset classes and continue to diversify our portfolio, thereby enhancing our ability to provide our shareholders with accretive growth.”

ABOUT SABRA

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (Nasdaq:SBRA), a Maryland corporation, is a self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust (a “REIT”) that, through its subsidiaries, owns and invests in real estate serving the healthcare industry. Sabra leases properties to tenants and operators throughout the United States. As of March 30, 2012, Sabra’s investment portfolio included 99 properties (consisting of (i) 89 skilled nursing/post-acute facilities, (ii) nine senior housing facilities, and (iii) one acute care hospital) and one mezzanine loan investment. As of March 30, 2012, Sabra’s properties were located in 24 states and included 10,997 licensed beds.

The Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=8563

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS SAFE HARBOR

This release contains “forward-looking” statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified, without limitation, by the use of “expects,” “believes,” “intends,” “should” or comparable terms or the negative thereof. Forward-looking statements in this release include our expectations regarding the impact of Sabra’s recent credit rating increase from Moody’s. Our actual results may differ materially from those projected or contemplated by our forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, among others, the following: our dependence on Sun Healthcare Group, Inc. until we are able to further diversify our portfolio; our dependence on the operating success of our tenants; changes in general economic conditions and volatility in financial and credit markets; the dependence of our tenants on reimbursement from governmental and other third-party payors; the significant amount of and our ability to service our indebtedness; covenants in our debt agreements that may restrict our ability to make acquisitions, incur additional indebtedness and refinance indebtedness on favorable terms; increases in market interest rates; our ability to raise capital through equity financings; the relatively illiquid nature of real estate investments; competitive conditions in our industry; the loss of key management personnel or other employees; the impact of litigation and rising insurance costs on the business of our tenants; uninsured or underinsured losses affecting our properties and the possibility of environmental compliance costs and liabilities; our ability to qualify and maintain our status as a REIT; compliance with REIT requirements and certain tax matters related to status as a REIT; and other factors discussed from time to time in our news releases, public statements and/or filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially the “Risk Factors” sections of our Annual and Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q. We assume no, and hereby disclaim any, obligation to update any of the foregoing or any other forward-looking statements as a result of new information or new or future developments, except as otherwise required by law.

CONTACT: Investor & Media Inquiries:(949) 679-0410