She said the DHB had introduced a number of initiatives such as the Hapai te Hoe training programme aimed at supporting staff to understand and acknowledge Maori values and beliefs and to enable DHB services to be more responsive to the needs of Maori whanau.
This training also included informing staff about their Treaty of Waitangi obligations.
This is part of the Maori Health Strategy He Korowai Oranga and the Whanganui DHB's 2013 adoption of the Whanau Ora or family-centred model of care.
Mrs Kui said while some of those initiatives had increased staff capability they were no longer significantly improving Maori staff numbers.
She suggested the board look at other DHBs to determine ways they could increase staff numbers and upskill existing Maori staff.
This could include setting targets for numbers of Maori staff.
She said the WDHB was attempting to tap into the increasing number of Maori entering nursing training in partnership with Whanganui UCOL, employing seven of the last eight Maori graduates to apply.
"We want Maori nurses to feel this is a place they want to come and work for," she said.
Staff at Whanganui UCOL confirmed an increasing number of Maori students were enrolling in the Bachelor of Nursing and Enrolled Nursing programmes.
As of December 31, 71 per cent of all WDHB staff were reported as of European ethnicity.