A long-standing Forsyth County pharmacy is completing a move to a larger location.

Lakeside Pharmacy & Compounding Lab is scheduled to officially open its new 4,000-square-foot facility today.

The new pharmacy is in 1505 Building of Northside Hospital-Forsyth, not far from the current site in the 1100 Building.

Owner Apollon Constantinides said he and his staff of about 27 have been working the past few weeks on the move.

“We’re getting there,” he said. “The biggest thing is all the space [we’ll have].”

He said the facility is about three times the size of the original location, which has been open for the past decade.

A feature of the new facility is its compounding lab, which Constantinides said is “10 times bigger” than the old one.

The larger area allows Lakeside pharmacists to prepare more specialty medications for both people and animals.

“We keep raw materials in the compounding lab, which can be mixed together in special combinations for unique needs,” Constantinides explained.

As an example, he cited how a doctor might order a medication for a child that doesn’t come in a liquid or chewable pill form. The larger compounding lab can create a form of the medication for the child to take.

The lab can also be used my many area veterinarians.

“We can mix up something with chicken or beef flavor so it’s easier for the pet owner to get their cat or dog to take it,” he said.

Lakeside also offers a prescription delivery service to Forsyth and surrounding areas.

Constantinides said that will continue and a new curbside service is being added.

“The biggest thing is parking,” he said. “Here we have three lanes [of parking spaces] right out front, so we can do curbside service. A customer can pull up and we can run their prescription right out to them.

“They don’t have to get the kids out or take off their bunny slippers.”

The new pharmacy area is larger and more organized than the current space, which Constantinides said should shorten wait times.

“There’s a much better flow and more counter space,” he said. “Right now our customers only have to wait about five minutes, but here those times should go down even more.”

The pharmacy will also soon offer an application for smart phone users, said Constantinides, explaining they can simply scan a bar code on their prescription bottles for refills.

An upgraded Web site is also in the works.

“It’s neat to cater to people in their 70s, 80s and 90s, but we also want to work with the younger crowd,” he said.

Besides prescriptions, Lakeside features a wide range of over-the-counter medications and products that patients may need, such as snacks and personal hygiene items.

Constantinides said the new facility continues one of Lakeside’s focuses of the past 10 years — outstanding customer service.

“Our whole philosophy is to provide over-the-top customer service,” he said. “You can go anywhere and wait in line for a prescription, but why not go where you’ll get the best service?”