Exhibit 99.1

Media Contact:

Damon Elder

delder@ahinvestors.com

(949) 270-9207

Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II Reports First Quarter 2012 Results

Officers of the REIT and executives of co-sponsor enter executive stock purchase plans

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (May 14, 2012) – Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II, Inc. today announced operating results for the company’s first quarter ended March 31, 2012.

“Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II acquired 16 buildings valued at $232.8 million, based on purchase price, during the first quarter of 2012, representing portfolio expansion of more than 53 percent during the quarter,” said Danny Prosky, president and chief operating officer. “As a result of this expansion, important financial metrics, such as modified funds from operations and net operating income, experienced year-over-year growth of approximately 263 percent and 221 percent, respectively, as compared to the first quarter of 2011.”

First Quarter 2012 Highlights and Recent Accomplishments

First Quarter 2012 and Recent Acquisition Highlights

“We remain committed to our stated goal of building the finest non-traded REIT in the industry,” said Hanson. “We believe the first quarter results of Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II demonstrate that we are on track to achieve this goal.”

FINANCIAL TABLES AND NOTES FOLLOW

GRIFFIN-AMERICAN HEALTHCARE REIT II, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

As of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011

(Unaudited)

GRIFFIN-AMERICAN HEALTHCARE REIT II, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2012 and 2011

(Unaudited)

GRIFFIN-AMERICAN HEALTHCARE REIT II, INC.

NET OPERATING INCOME RECONCILIATION

For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2012 and 2011

Net operating income is a non-GAAP financial measure that is defined as net income (loss), computed in accordance with GAAP, generated from properties before general and administrative expenses, acquisition related expenses, depreciation and amortization, interest expense and interest income. We believe that net operating income is useful for investors as it provides an accurate measure of the operating performance of our operating assets because net operating income excludes certain items that are not associated with the management of the properties. Additionally, we believe that net operating income is a widely accepted measure of comparative operating performance in the real estate community. However, our use of the term net operating income may not be comparable to that of other real estate companies as they may have different methodologies for computing this amount.

The following is a reconciliation of net loss, which is the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, to net operating income for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011:

GRIFFIN-AMERICAN HEALTHCARE REIT II, INC.

FFO AND MFFO RECONCILIATION

For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2012 and 2011

Due to certain unique operating characteristics of real estate companies, NAREIT, an industry trade group, has promulgated a measure known as FFO, which we believe to be an appropriate supplemental measure to reflect the operating performance of a REIT. The use of FFO is recommended by the REIT industry as a supplemental performance measure. FFO is not equivalent to our net income (loss) as determined under GAAP.

We define FFO, a non-GAAP measure, consistent with the standards established by the White Paper on FFO approved by the Board of Governors of NAREIT, as revised in February 2004, or the White Paper. The White Paper defines FFO as net income (loss) computed in accordance with GAAP, excluding gains or losses from sales of property and asset impairment writedowns, plus depreciation and amortization, and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures. Adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures are calculated to reflect FFO. Our FFO calculation complies with NAREIT’s policy described above.

The historical accounting convention used for real estate assets requires straight-line depreciation of buildings and improvements, which implies that the value of real estate assets diminishes predictably over time, which is the case if such assets are not adequately maintained or repaired and renovated as required by relevant circumstances and/or as requested or required by lessees for operational purposes in order to maintain the value disclosed. We believe that, since real estate values historically rise and fall with market conditions, including inflation, interest rates, the business cycle, unemployment and consumer spending, presentations of operating results for a REIT using historical accounting for depreciation may be less informative. In addition, we believe it is appropriate to disregard impairment charges, as this is a fair value adjustment that is largely based on market fluctuations and assessments regarding general market conditions which can change over time. An asset will only be evaluated for impairment if certain impairment indications exist, and if the carrying, or book value, exceeds the total estimated undiscounted future cash flows (including net rental and lease revenues, net proceeds on the sale of the property, and any other ancillary cash flows at a property or group level under GAAP) from such asset an impairment charge would be recognized. Testing for impairment charges is a continuous process and is analyzed on a quarterly basis. Investors should note, however, that determinations of whether impairment charges have been incurred are based partly on anticipated operating performance, because estimated undiscounted future cash flows from a property, including estimated future net rental and lease revenues, net proceeds on the sale of the property, and certain other ancillary cash flows, are taken into account in determining whether an impairment charge has been incurred. While impairment charges are excluded from the calculation of FFO as described above, investors are cautioned that due to the fact that impairments are based on estimated future undiscounted cash flows and that we intend to have a relatively limited term of our operations, it could be difficult to recover any impairment charges through the eventual sale of the property.

Historical accounting for real estate involves the use of GAAP. Any other method of accounting for real estate such as the fair value method cannot be construed to be any more accurate or relevant than the comparable methodologies of real estate valuation found in GAAP. Nevertheless, we believe that the use of FFO, which excludes the impact of real estate related depreciation and amortization and impairments, provides a more complete understanding of our performance to investors and to our management, and when compared year over year, reflects the impact on our operations from trends in occupancy rates, rental rates, operating costs, general and administrative expenses, and interest costs, which may not be immediately apparent from net income (loss).

However, FFO and modified funds from operations, or MFFO, as described below, should not be construed to be more relevant or accurate than the current GAAP methodology in calculating net income (loss) or in its applicability in evaluating our operating performance. The method utilized to evaluate the value and performance of real estate under GAAP should be construed as a more relevant measure of operational performance and considered more prominently than the non-GAAP FFO and MFFO measures and the adjustments to GAAP in calculating FFO and MFFO.

Changes in the accounting and reporting rules under GAAP that were put into effect and other changes to GAAP accounting for real estate subsequent to the establishment of NAREIT’s definition of FFO have prompted an increase in cash-settled expenses, specifically acquisition fees and expenses, as items that are expensed as operating expenses under GAAP. We believe these fees and expenses do not affect our overall long-term operating performance. Publicly registered, non-listed REITs typically have a significant amount of acquisition activity and are substantially more dynamic during their initial years of investment and operation. While other start up entities may also experience significant acquisition activity during their initial years, we believe that publicly registered, non-listed REITs are unique in that they have a limited life with targeted exit strategies within a relatively limited time frame after the acquisition activity ceases. Accordingly, we do not intend to continuously purchase assets and intend to have a limited life. Due to the above factors and other unique features of publicly registered, non-listed REITs, the Investment Program Association, or the IPA, an industry trade group, has standardized a measure known as MFFO, which the IPA has recommended as a supplemental measure for publicly registered, non-listed REITs and which we believe to be another appropriate supplemental measure to reflect the operating performance of a publicly registered, non-listed REIT having the characteristics described above. MFFO is not equivalent to our net income (loss) as determined under GAAP, and MFFO may not be a useful measure of the impact of long-term operating performance on value if we do not continue to operate with a limited life and targeted exit strategy, as currently intended. We believe that, because MFFO excludes acquisition fees and expenses that affect our operations only in periods in which properties are acquired and that we consider more reflective of investing activities, as well as other non-operating items included in FFO, MFFO can provide, on a going forward basis, an indication of the sustainability (that is, the capacity to continue to be maintained) of our operating performance after the period in which we are acquiring our properties and once our portfolio is in place. By providing MFFO, we believe we are presenting useful information that assists investors and analysts to better assess the sustainability of our operating performance after our properties have been acquired. We also believe that MFFO is a recognized measure of sustainable operating performance by the publicly registered, non-listed REIT industry. Further, we believe MFFO is useful in comparing the sustainability of our operating performance after our acquisitions are completed with the sustainability of the operating performance of other real estate companies that are not as involved in acquisition activities. Investors are cautioned that MFFO should only be used to assess the sustainability of our operating performance after our properties have been acquired, as it excludes acquisition fees and expenses that have a negative effect on our operating performance during the periods in which properties are acquired.

We define MFFO, a non-GAAP measure, consistent with the IPA’s Guideline 2010-01, Supplemental Performance Measure for Publicly Registered, Non-Listed REITs: Modified Funds from Operations, or the Practice Guideline, issued by the IPA in November 2010. The Practice Guideline defines MFFO as FFO further adjusted for the following items included in the determination of GAAP net income (loss): acquisition fees and expenses; amounts relating to deferred rent receivables and amortization of above and below market leases and liabilities (which are adjusted in order to reflect such payments from a GAAP accrual basis to closer to an expected to be received cash basis of disclosing the rent and lease payments); accretion of discounts and amortization of premiums on debt investments; mark-to-market adjustments included in net income (loss); gains or losses included in net income (loss) from the extinguishment or sale of debt, hedges, foreign exchange, derivatives or securities holdings where trading of such holdings is not a fundamental attribute of the business plan, unrealized gains or losses resulting from consolidation from, or deconsolidation to, equity accounting, and after adjustments for consolidated and unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures, with such adjustments calculated to reflect MFFO on the same basis. The accretion of discounts and amortization of premiums on debt investments, unrealized gains and losses on hedges, foreign exchange, derivatives or securities holdings, unrealized gains and losses resulting from consolidations, as well as other listed cash flow adjustments are adjustments made to net income (loss) in calculating cash flows from operations and, in some cases, reflect gains or losses which are unrealized and may not ultimately be realized. We are responsible for managing interest rate, hedge and foreign exchange risk, and we do not rely on another party to manage such risk. Inasmuch as interest rate hedges are not a fundamental part of our operations, we believe it is appropriate to exclude such gains and losses in calculating MFFO, as such gains and losses are based on market fluctuations and may not be directly related or attributable to our operations.

Our MFFO calculation complies with the IPA’s Practice Guideline described above. In calculating MFFO, we exclude acquisition related expenses (which includes gains and losses on contingent consideration), amortization of above and below market leases, fair value adjustments of derivative financial instruments, gains or losses from the extinguishment of debt, change in deferred rent receivables and the adjustments of such items related to noncontrolling interests. The other adjustments included in the IPA’s Practice Guideline are not applicable to us for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011.

Acquisition fees and expenses are paid in cash by us, and we have not set aside or put into escrow any specific amount to be used to fund acquisition fees and expenses. We do not intend to fund acquisition fees and expenses in the future from operating revenues and cash flows, nor from the sale of properties and subsequent re-deployment of capital and concurrent incurring of acquisition fees and expenses. Acquisition fees and expenses include payments to our former advisor, our advisor entities or their affiliates and third parties. Acquisition related expenses under GAAP are considered operating expenses and as expenses included in the determination of net income (loss) and income (loss) from continuing operations, both of which are performance measures under GAAP. All paid and accrued acquisition fees and expenses will have negative effects on returns to investors, the potential for future distributions, and cash flows generated by us, unless earnings from operations or net sales proceeds from the disposition of other properties are generated to cover the purchase price of the property, these fees and expenses and other costs related to such property. In the future this could result in us paying acquisition fees or reimbursing acquisition expenses due to our former advisor, our advisor entities and their affiliates, or a portion thereof, with net proceeds from borrowed funds, operational earnings or cash flows, net proceeds from the sale of properties, or ancillary cash flows. As a result, the amount of cash available for investment and operations would be reduced, or we may incur additional interest expense as a result of borrowed funds.

Further, under GAAP, certain contemplated non-cash fair value and other non-cash adjustments are considered operating non-cash adjustments to net income (loss) in determining cash flows from operations. In addition, we view fair value adjustments of derivatives and gains and losses from dispositions of assets as items which are unrealized and may not ultimately be realized or as items which are not reflective of on-going operations and are therefore typically adjusted for when assessing operating performance.

We use MFFO and the adjustments used to calculate it in order to evaluate our performance against other publicly registered, non-listed REITs which intend to have limited lives with short and defined acquisition periods and targeted exit strategies shortly thereafter. As noted above, MFFO may not be a useful measure of the impact of long-term operating performance if we do not continue to operate in this manner. We believe that our use of MFFO and the adjustments used to calculate it allow us to present our performance in a manner that reflects certain characteristics that are unique to publicly registered, non-listed REITs, such as their limited life, limited and defined acquisition period and targeted exit strategy, and hence that the use of such measures may be useful to investors. For example, acquisition fees and expenses are intended to be funded from the proceeds of the sale of our stock and other financing sources and not from operations. By excluding expensed acquisition fees and expenses, the use of MFFO provides information consistent with management’s analysis of the operating performance of the properties. Additionally, fair value adjustments, which are based on the impact of current market fluctuations and underlying assessments of general market conditions, but can also result from operational factors such as rental and occupancy rates, may not be directly related or attributable to our current operating performance. By excluding such charges that may reflect anticipated and unrealized gains or losses, we believe MFFO provides useful supplemental information.

Presentation of this information is intended to provide useful information to investors as they compare the operating performance of different REITs, although it should be noted that not all REITs calculate FFO and MFFO the same way, so comparisons with other REITs may not be meaningful. Furthermore, FFO and MFFO are not necessarily indicative of cash flow available to fund cash needs and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) or income (loss) from continuing operations as an indication of our performance, as an alternative to cash flows from operations, which is an indication of our liquidity, or indicative of funds available to fund our cash needs including our ability to make distributions to our stockholders. FFO and MFFO should be reviewed in conjunction with other measurements as an indication of our performance. MFFO may be useful in assisting management and investors in assessing the sustainability of operating performance in future operating periods, and in particular, after the capital formation and acquisition stages are complete and net asset value is disclosed. FFO and MFFO are not useful measures in evaluating net asset value because impairments are taken into account in determining net asset value but not in determining FFO and MFFO.

Neither the SEC, NAREIT nor any other regulatory body has passed judgment on the acceptability of the adjustments that we use to calculate FFO or MFFO. In the future, the SEC, NAREIT or another regulatory body may decide to standardize the allowable adjustments across the publicly registered, non-listed REIT industry and we would have to adjust our calculation and characterization of FFO or MFFO.

The following is a reconciliation of net loss, which is the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, to FFO and MFFO for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011:

About Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II, Inc.

Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II, Inc. is a real estate investment trust organized to invest in a diversified portfolio of real estate properties, focusing primarily on medical office buildings and healthcare-related facilities. The REIT is co-sponsored by American Healthcare Investors and Griffin Capital Corporation. For more information regarding Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II, please visit www.HealthcareREIT2.com.

* * *

This release contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to the success of our company, whether we can continue to improve our net operating income and modified funds of operations, and whether we can maintain the financial results experienced in the quarter ended March 31, 2012. Because such statements include risks, uncertainties and contingencies, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and contingencies include, but are not limited to, the following: our strength and financial condition and uncertainties relating to the financial strength of our current and future real estate investments; uncertainties relating to the local economies where our real estate investments are located; uncertainties relating to changes in general economic and real estate conditions; uncertainties regarding changes in the healthcare industry; uncertainties relating to the implementation of recent healthcare legislation; the uncertainties relating to the implementation of our real estate investment strategy; and other risk factors as outlined in the company’s periodic reports, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements in this document speak only as of the date on which such statements were made, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. We undertake no obligation to update any such statements that may become untrue because of subsequent events.

###