Nassau police officials were in East Meadow Wednesday to announce statistics concerning opioid overdoses and to push for a five-prong approach to tackle the epidemic.

East Meadow ranks No. 2 in the county when it comes to opioid overdoses. Since the beginning of 2017, there have been 57 overdoses, 7 of them were fatal.

Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder says the department is pushing for education, awareness, enforcement, diversion and treatment in an effort to gain the upper hand on the issue.

The push comes after the arrest of a teacher assistant at Woodland Middle School in East Meadow. Police say she was stopped on Front Street and asleep at the wheel. They say they found liquid marijuana, cocaine and amphetamines inside.

"These are the gateway drugs that get you into heroin," said Ryder. "Hopefully she gets some help and can turn her life around."