So far, the collapse of the largest care home operator in Britain has been played through a crashing share price and meetings in London hotels, where creditors have battled over its future.
But now, its 31,000 residents will also witness significant changes.
Southern Cross is set to disappear as a name and entity after all of the company's 80 landlords decided to leave. New operators will take over the 752 homes. At best, the rubble of Southern Cross will survive as an outsourcer of back-office services, such as payroll, to a small collection of landlords.
It is not the finale Southern Cross management envisaged.
Chief executive Jamie Buchan was planning for Southern Cross to lose up to 200 homes – through closures and landlords reclaiming properties – and emerge as a leaner operator focused on specialist care such as dementia.
He had proposed a 30pc cut in rents over summer so Southern Cross could rebuild is finances and prepare for the new era.
But landlords have turned their back on Mr Buchan.
In many ways, this is a gamble. High-profile tycoons such as the Livingstone brothers and Nick Leslau must now take responsibility for finding new operators. Backers of the landlords also include a state-backed bank, because Royal Bank of Scotland owns 40pc of Four Seasons.
If the transition of care goes wrong, their heads are on the block. According to Southern Cross, only 250 of the 752 homes have firm plans for new operators in place.
The GMB union has already issued a rebuke to the landlords and their alleged offshore tax bases.
"Southern Cross may be on its last legs but for Southern Cross's 31,000 residents and 43,000 staff this looks like a case of "out of the frying pan, into the fire"," it said. "All this spells months more uncertainty and worry for residents and staff."
However, Daniel Smith, chairman of the Southern Cross landlords' committee, told The Daily Telegraph he is "very confident" the "challenging" transition will be a success.
"It is a complex process and it will unfold over the coming weeks," he said, before offering reassurances about the quality of new care home operators.
"Unless you are an operator, the landlords are not getting involved in care delivery. Southern Cross are the current operators and the landlords will find new operators.
"It is a highly regulated industry. So you cannot have an operator that does not pass a Care Quality Commission test."
Mr Smith said property owners thought carefully about splitting up the business. The key factors in the final decision, he explained, were doubts about damage to the Southern Cross brand and the benefits of the company's size.
"I think economies of scale have produced largely illusive in the industry," he said. "If you are a landlord and have a portfolio of 100 homes out of 750 homes, wouldn't you rather be 100 out of 100? You would have an operator focused on driving performance in your homes."
Some of the landlords have been openly critical about the management of Southern Cross – blaming a drop in occupancy rates rather than a £250m rental bill as the reason for the company's problems – and have already said they will take control of their homes,
Bondcare and Four Seasons, which each own more than 40 homes, will operate their care homes and scrap closure plans by Southern Cross. Bondcare is also thought to be one of three parties, including Healthcare Homes, in talks about operating London & Regional's 90 homes.
Meanwhile, NHP, the biggest landlord with 250 homes, has brought in the former Priory chief executive Chai Patel as an adviser. Sources say his business Court Cavendish will operate NHP's homes when Southern Cross is closed and could also take over homes owned by Loyds, another leading landlord.
However, there are 80 landlords in total, many of which own just one home and have no deal with a new operator. Therefore, significant questions remain unanswered. Will all 44,000 Southern Cross jobs be saved and will any homes have to close because new operators cannot be found? Southern Cross believed more than 30 were not financially "viable".
The company says it will support the transition process "professionally" and Mr Buchan expects it to be completed by the end of October. But the transfer of 31,000 customers and 44,000 staff is rare in any sector, nevermind an industry where the customers require round-the-clock attention. "This will be a major and important project to manage and a lot of people need to help," Mr Buchan said.
Yesterday was the beginning of the end for Southern Cross. But residents and staff must find a way to live on.
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